


Skate.

by kozumekenmakun (dearestloverboy)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Slow Burn, figure skating! au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-04-03 19:11:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 58,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14002731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearestloverboy/pseuds/kozumekenmakun
Summary: Kuroo could skate.He's put on skates before, laced them up and tied them before, walked around on carpeted floor before, taken the first step on scratched, white ice before, had glided with ease and without the need to focus before. He's no pro-skater but he's not a goddamn newbie, either.Kuroo could fucking skate.But here he was, signing up for a beginners skating course like some sort of jackass.





	1. Hands up, Robert

**Author's Note:**

> i'm not a skater and therefore don't really know all there is to know, so i'll try and keep things very vague so i don't get things very very wrong!!  
> if i do have errors in describing certain skating elements and such, please do let me know so i can fix it!

Kuroo could skate.

He's put on skates before, laced them up and tied them before, walked around on carpeted floor before, taken the first step on scratched, white ice before, had glided with ease and without the need to focus before. The sound of the blades dully scratching along the ice beneath his feet was not new. Tilting himself at just the right angle to scrape up the surface of ice and to slow to a quick but graceful stop was nothing he wasn't used to. Clinging to the walls of the ice rink like it was the only thing his life depended on was a thing of the past, especially when he was used to the ice, when he's learned past the awkward, unsure and confusing stage of things. He's no pro-skater but he's not a goddamn newbie, either.

Kuroo could fucking skate.

But here he was, signing up for a beginners skating course like some sort of jackass. As he scanned the words printed neatly in flawless black ink he couldn't help but only process one word: jackass. There was no way Kuroo could pretend to be a beginner, especially when he'd been skating since before he even started volleyball, especially when this shit became second nature.

His wrist flicked unceremoniously on the signature line. He placed the pen down, and turned the papers around 180 degrees to the woman at the counter. She smiled, and he straightened his posture. 

There was no way he could fake this.

He pulled out a 20 dollar bill from his wallet and slid it over. The initial fee for the first class.

No way he could fake it, but he had a reason to.

Akaashi Keiji's fucking ass.

 

* * *

 

Akaashi Keiji was beautiful the first time Kuroo saw him. Wait, correction--IS beautiful. Was, is, forever will be, gorgeous.

Kuroo's narrowed, cat-like and mischief filled eyes first laid upon such beauty on tv, for the Grand Prix of figure skating last year. Kuroo's always had an interest in skating; it's been in his life for so long, it feels empty without it in some way or form. He knew he'd never want to do skating professionally, competing like Akaashi or those damn skilled Russians, or doing it for performances all over Japan, so skating stayed in his life by being a past time, a hobby, something to do when he needed to clear his head. He sucked at doing jumps anyways, and wearing those beautiful costumes for performances always felt wrong on a tall, intimidating guy like him.

Just wasn't his scene.

So it stayed a past time, a mind clearer. He stuck to volleyball as his serious thing instead. He was good at that, at least. Good enough to be on such a strong team, good enough to grant him scholarships, good enough to be on a college team. He's not near Olympic or professional level, but it's more realistic of a goal for him than skating ever will be.

Even so, watching competitions for skating, like the Grand Prix and the ones held at the Olympics was another way to have skating still in his life. He was able to watch and admire the skill and understand the work behind it like he did when he watched volleyball matches. But he watched skating as a hobby, because that's what skating was. A damn hobby.

And that's how Kuroo saw Akaashi.

Grand Prix finals, a year ago. Akaashi Keiji, representing Japan. He came out into the ice like they always do: nonchalant, calm, relaxed, regal, focused, beautiful. They make simple gliding along look like something only royalty could do, something aristocrats only could afford to look like. Akaashi came gliding out like the highest prince of the richest country of the biggest empire in history. A white suit, Kuroo remembers, he was wearing a white suit.

Well, mostly.

His outfit was more like the ballet version of a white suit. His legs donned not pants but tights, opaque and skin tight and God did it do wonders to show off what was good in this world: skater's legs. Akaashi's legs.

His upper body was more like the traditional suit however, with the typical skater's flare of diamonds and glitter and rhinestones. Sparkly shit. A white button up, perfectly pressed; a perfectly fitting suit jacket with an extending tail at the back, like something an orchestra conductor would wear to his concert. It was pristine, white with minimal gold accents and of course, the sparkle.

Simplistic, minimalistic, beautiful. Akaashi.

He did a lap or two around the rink, a typical short warmup. No jumps, just simple scope of the area, a last chance to collect stray thoughts and tuck them away. A time to pin point and have laser focus on one thing and one thing only: performing well, and performing perfect.

He reaches the middle of the ice, and pauses. Kuroo hears nothing, not the crowd, not his own breath, not the sounds of his mother moving about behind him. He can hear the stillness of the ice rink, the slight chill.. His heart stops and he tenses and pauses when Akaashi pauses.

Akaashi lets in a deep breath, his chest swelling, elegant, graceful. It's like the first breath an orchestra takes before the bows reach the string, before fingers are placed, before the conductor even motions for the song to begin. Akaashi moves into his first pose, so fucking beautiful, he's breathtaking even when he's making miniscule movements.

The music begins a second after Akaashi gets into position. It's quiet at first, the soft pizzicato of strings. He's still frozen in place.

The solo violin comes in, beginning to come alive with sound and so does Akaashi. Kuroo's mind blanks; his ears hear nothing but the sweetness of the violin, gentle and ginger, swelling with vibrato. His eyes only focus on the sole figure of Akaashi Keiji. God, he's so beautiful.

Every movement corresponds with the music. If anyone knew how to chose music they could connect to and become one with, it was Akaashi. He always chose classical music, usually ballet music. He was artistic, soulful, emotion filled… every move was on purpose and not one scratch on the ice was done unintentionally. The music becomes his dance partner, and he follows its lead.

When the full orchestra comes in, swelling and moving, fading in and out with the solo violin, his movements are less minimal, but still formal, but still elegant and poised. His first jump is when the clarinet comes in, solo and gentle, softer than the violin but not less sweeter. Akaashi lands the jump perfectly, and as if Kuroo was there, dancing on the ice with Akaashi he could hear the way his skates glide along the ice with that particular noise, then it disappears when he jumps, and the click of sound when he lands, on one foot, perfectly, not one particle of his being out of balance.

The performance continues, swelling, diminishing, growing louder and bolder then softer and delicate. Akaashi stays following with the music, listening to it's each and every command. Every sound resonating from those bows, strings, and wooden body of the instruments has a matching movement that corresponds perfectly, like a translation into another language. From the sounds you hear, they become visuals.

When the violin lets out long, fading notes Akaashi is gliding along, and when the notes come in short bursts of sound, staccatoed but still connected, every beat with the sound is him making stacctoed but flowing movements as well. Kuroo would be damned if he said what Akaashi did wasn't an art form, just like the orchestras he skates to.

When it ends, Kuroo's senses come slowly trickling back like water from a faucet. He now hears the audience, clapping vigorously, cheering loudly and in abundant praise. His mother is chopping something in the kitchen. Akaashi stands still on the ice for a few seconds, frozen in his final, striking pose, chest heaving but he doesn't even look damn tired.

Kuroo never googled someone faster in his entire damn life.

The next year was him becoming consumed in the world of Akaashi Keiji. He followed his every performance, watched every single one broadcasted live on tv or uploaded as a video online. He watched every single program he's done. Free skate, short program, from this year and that, every single damn one he could find, he's watched it all.

The one he watches most is the first one, where he's donned like a prince, white clothing so bright, so unmarred and perfect it stood out from the white of the ice he skated upon. Where he danced like a violin plays, artful and with grace only professionals have.

Perhaps it become some sort of obsession after that. An addiction, even. It was one hit with Akaashi, a single drag of his talent and he was hooked and couldn't end the craving he had. A craving for Akaashi to win, to continue doing what he did, to be the best in the world… to do what Kuroo wants to do with volleyball.

Kuroo began skating more after seeing Akaashi for the first time. His local rink wasn't popular, so he often had most of the rink to himself. Inspired by such talent and skill, sometimes he'd try the jumps he'd see Akaashi doing, mostly for shits and giggles, and always end up on his ass. It sparked a new love for skating within him, a new appreciation he didn't have before. 

It was December when things changed for his skating-on-the-side thing. Figure skating season was at large in December, and on numerous websites, skating competitions were being broadcast everyday. Clips of skaters also were uploaded, updates on current scores and future possibilities for every skater were posted, endless buzz about skating was fizzing in December.

Which is why Kuroo didn't expect to see a sign mentioning Akaashi Keiji here and there at the skating rink. The first few times he passed it, he actually.. Didn't think much of it. Perhaps an ad for a fanclub, Kuroo would think, and couldn’t think about it further. 

But soon enough, his curiosity couldn't be held back, so it was December when he finally looked at the damn Akaashi Keiji poster and he nearly lost his goddamn shit. 

"Akaashi Keiji: World Class Figure Skater is Offering Skating Lessons!"

There was some more words and a damn cute photo of Akaashi and certainly no mention of fan club or some other stupid thing Kuroo couldn't be bothered with. In fact, this was ten times more interesting and a thousand times better than some fan club of giggling teen girls. His skating…. Idol, if you could even call his stupid obsession that, was back in Japan and offering lessons. He didn't care to dwell on the "why the fuck" and cared more about the "how the fuck do I sign up".

Because damn, if Akaashi wasn't his "idol", Akaashi was certainly some weird, obsessive crush.

 

* * *

 

The girl at the desk turned and went to the racks in the back of the room she occupied, the racks lined with various sized skates, organized by size. After she poked around a bit, seemingly mumbling to herself as she hopped up to her toes and crouched down to the floor, she found the right pair of skates. Kuroo dully noted that perhaps she wasn't the best at this job, at least without a step stool. The girl was barely half the height of the racks; he felt pity thinking about her trying to reach the skates on the higher shelves herself.

Pushing that thought aside, she turned back around and headed back to the counter, carrying the skates with some difficulty. She placed them, a bit too roughly upon the smooth surface of the counter, sliding them over to Kuroo with an awkward, shy smile.  
  
"For each class, the skate rental fee is covered by the class cost," She informed him, her smile evening out and looking more natural. He raised an eyebrow a little. Well, at least he's saving some money, though, really, he totally wasn't. He'd spend less money coming to the rink with his own skates to practice falling on his ass then learn how to skate entirely from square one from some famous skater he's obsessed with but hasn't met but wants to because he's got a good ass and a nice face. 

God, thinking it out in his head just made this sound so much worse.

He collected his skates, and tried to remember to not dwell on the shitty choices he's making currently. 

Kuroo thanked the blonde girl dryly and headed over to the sidelines of the rink, where benches were lined up along the outside walls of the skating rink. On his way there he could hear the sound of a clap as the blade of an ice skate met the ice floor. It wasn't all that loud but.. It reverberated in Kuroo's mind. That sound.. Really could only be made by--

Akaashi Keiji was out the skating rink already, gliding about like some sort of fucking majestic swan, doing simpler jumps out on the ice, occasionally throwing in a spin or two. It looked like he was just mish mashing together some random stuff for no other purpose other than to warm up and get used to the ice. Kuroo's stomach twisted heavily and tightly into a knot. One step closer to being a jackass. 

As much as he didn't want to, he tore his eyes from the ice. He can go make lovey dovey eyes at Akaashi later, when he's actually at the damn lesson. Finding an empty bench he took a seat, plunking his butt down onto it and getting to work unlacing his shoes and shoving his feet into the skates. 

It took him a lot of strength to ignore the sound of the clap of Akaashi's skate on the ice, the occasional amplification of the gliding whizzing by whenever Akaashi was making rounds about the rink and passed by him. This was weird, this was stupid, this was a waste of time and money-

"Kuroo?" A soft voice rises above Kuroo's berating. His fingers still and freeze, their grip on the laces of the skates loosening. His head perked up and the voice matched who he thought it was:

Kenma.

Kuro's mouth spread out like butter over toast into a wide and signature cat grin. Kenma stood in front of him, about a foot of distance between them. His hands were stuffed into his old and scruffy Nekoma jacket, still in one piece after all these years of use. Kuroo noticed that he was wearing skates, as well, and was surprisingly well balanced standing still on them.

"Surprised you still skate after all these years," Kuroo commented, finishing up tying the last knot on his skates. He stood, a few inches taller in height thanks to the skates. Kenma wrinkled his nose.  
  
"You make me sound like an old man," He mumbled. He turned and began walking-- well, walking as best you could in skates -- to the nearest entrance to the rink. Kuroo followed in suit, understanding the nuances of Kenma's behavior.

 "Why are you here?" Kenma continued, after stepping on the ice. He was a bit wobbly, but a little guidance from Kuroo and he wasn't falling over just yet. Much like a timid child, Kenma shuffled over to the wall of the rink, his hands escaping from his jacket pockets and then grasping onto the rink's walls.  
  
Hm, Kuroo thought. Kenma still can't skate very well.

"Akaashi Keiji," He answered simply. At the mention of his name, Kuroo's eyes drifted to where he was. He was now on the carpeted outskirts outside the rink, drinking from a solid black water bottle. He didn't look even a single ounce of tired.  
  
Kenma's eyes tore away from their focus on the wall he clung to to look up at Kuroo with wide eyes. "You're getting lessons, too?" He asked, a hint of curiosity hidden underneath his monotonous voice.

"You can skate, though, Kuroo." Kenma added, head turning back to the wall. He continued shuffling along, and just to keep up his beginner act, Kuroo's hand rested upon the wall as well, going as slow as Kenma was, but with more balance involved. 

"However I waste my money is my problem," Kuroo simply replied, a mischievous grin gracing his features. Kenma grimaced.

"Just don't hog him. I want to learn to skate," Kenma replied softly. As time continued, Kenma was slowly taking longer strides along the ice, though his hands stayed grasping for dear life to the wall beside him.

"I told you I could teach you," Kuroo hummed, looking around the skating rink once more. Akaashi was back on the ice, though he was across the way and talking to someone from over the wall. It looked to be the blonde girl from the counter, who gave him the skates and got the lesson shit out the way for him. She pointed over to Kuroo and Kenma, and with the smallest of movements Akaashi was now looking over at him, half lidded eyes focused on him.

Well, probably him and Kenma, but still him.

"You sucked at teaching me volleyball. I don't trust you with skating," Kenma's voice drew Kuroo's attention away from Akaashi and back to him. Kenma wobbled and nearly slipped, dropping down into a very awkward squat-crouch. His arms shook with how hard he was clutching onto the wall.  
  
Kuroo let go of the wall himself and leaned down a little to give a hand to Kenma, helping him get back to standing on his feet and silently reassuring him that no one really saw. Kenma's hands still trembled as he gripped the wall, though not by strain but rather slight anxiety. Kuroo placed a hand on the small of Kenma's back, reassuringly.  
  
"You got so good at setting, though!" Kuroo argued, playfully pouting. Kenma rolled his eyes, his tense shoulders relaxing.  
  
"Thanks to coach Nekoma," He retorted, and Kuroo grasped at his chest. He threw his head back and let out a whine.  
  
"You hurt me, Kenma! Your love is like that of a dagger--"  
  
"Are you two my students?" A low, controlled and even voice spoke, the person with the voice having appeared completely silently. Kuroo's head whipped to the source, and just as he thought, Akaashi Keiji. Kenma swatted Kuroo's hand away from his back and shuffled a bit to turn around, facing Akaashi.  
  
"Yeah, we are," Kenma replied, managing very well to stay upon his feet.

"Kuroo Tetsurou and Kenma Kozume," Kuroo introduced them both, pointing at himself then to Kenma. Akaashi bowed his head slightly.  
  
"Akaashi Keiji," He replied, though it was wholly unnecessary for him to even have to utter his name. Kuroo knew damn well the fine ass man in front of him, and he was sure Kenma had some idea if he was here today, receiving a lesson from him.  
  
It felt like a shit show, getting things started. But goddamn, seeing Akaashi Keiji up close was totally worth the $20 worth of self hatred. 

Akaashi Keiji was just as beautiful -- no, even MORE beautiful than pictures and videos and broadcasts could ever depict. His skin was fair, even, fucking _flawless_ \-- not a single blemish or scar or even a beauty mark -- as flawless as the immaculate white outfit he wore the first time Kuroo saw him perform. His hair was always messy but.. Some sort of intentional messy. Every curl or wave of hair out of place looked as if purposefully placed there. Purposefully messy. His eyes were half-lidded, and the way his face rested naturally in such a disinterested way reminded him of Kenma. His face showed a lack of emotion, or annoyance to others, but Kuroo knew better. It was the face of someone who was calculative, who watched before they took action. Kuroo wouldn't be surprised if Akaashi was attentive like an owl -- perhaps that is his key to success. Watch, learn, see how it's done right and perfect, then do it yourself.

Kuroo could totally fake being bad at skating if he just stared in wonder at Akaashi and focused only on him, really.

A rocky start to this mess of choices, Kuroo thought, but 20 bucks to see him up close and so often?

Priceless.  
  
 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you want to listen to any music with this chapter (particularly the scene describing one of Akaashi's programs) listen to Valse Sentimentale - Tchaikovsky. its the song i had in mind for that scene ^^


	2. Getaway

Akaashi was not happy.

He was at the top of his game at the recent Olympics. While he didn't win all and exclusively gold in the events he competed in, he did earn quite a few for Japan and for himself. After the games concluded he'd return to his training facility in Canada to prepare for the Grand Prix later that year, learning completely new programs and attempting new combinations for jumps and improving what he could in the months he had. His gold medals and general rank never stopped him from thinking he had to improve. He wasn't perfect every time he performed; he would stumble, forget, and make mistakes. He still had a long time before he was where he wanted to be and every day was spent getting there. 

So when he received news from his coach that he'd be retiring, Akaashi didn't know what to do.

Akaashi was not fucking happy.

There were plenty of coaches out there, coaches who trained only the best and the professionals, those who had a similar eye to Akaashi's, who saw the art form in skating like he did. There were ones in Japan and in Europe that were so much closer to his family so losing his coach wouldn't be the end of the damn world, but shit, did it suck. So instead of making any rash decisions, Akaashi went home to his mother in Japan, and decided to just take a break from skating. Use the time to research some coaches, talk to them, see competitions from an outside view. He didn't want to waste his time with his break but the lack of the usual training rigor he was accustom to was...hard to get used to at first. But it felt nice having time to himself that didn't revolve around training. 

He wasn't sure how this plan of training himself while researching for new coaches and what not turned into… him teaching others how to skate. Perhaps it was because his hometown was heavily famed for being where Akaashi first and foremost trained at. Perhaps it was because he wanted to get money somehow to help support his mother. Maybe he was doing it because it was the first job he had, before he officially began competing, and it never hurt to go back to your roots. 

 

* * *

 

He had a simple class that day, 2 students only. Should be nice and easy. One was clearly a klutzy beginner, struggling with the concept of being balanced, and the other… damn suspicious. He looked too confident as he leaned against the rink wall, barely hiding the fact that he more than likely knew a thing or two about skating. Akaashi was getting paid to do this, though, so he kept his mouth shut about that. Plus, for all he knew, they could totally be terrible at everything but standing up straight.

It started off nice and easy, simple. He focused his attention on getting Kenma the rink walls and learning to balance. The poor thing clung to Akaashi's forearms so damn tightly and he shook so much it was concerning. He made sure to keep his voice soft, low, reassuring and full of praise, and eventually he slowly was able to calm down. The tremors in his hands and the wobble in his knees did get considerably better and he was now able to take small steps around the rink without clinging to the wall like a life line.

After telling him to keep a slow, steady and balanced pace around the rink for now, he turned his attention to Smug Face McSuspicious. He knew his name was Kuroo, but he knew something was up before they even began. He had a lazy grin on his face, casually leaning against the wall his friend or whatever was holding onto moments before.  
  
"Do you know how to take strides?" Akaashi asked, face blank.

"Not sure I'm as good as you," He replies, voice smooth and low. He holds out his hands, expecting to be gripping onto Akaashi's forearm like the other. Akaashi still wasn't sure about this guy, but to avoid conflict he hesitantly moved forward and let him grip onto his arms as Kenma  did moments before.

Akaashi could tell he was faking. It's fine, Akaashi told himself. He's wasting his own money. The fakeness of his stumbles as he "tried" gaining his balance was disgustingly fake.

You're getting paid, Akaashi… He reminded himself.

Smug Face continued the charade of being as bad of a newbie as his friend was for a few minutes, before moving on to another scene in his grand stage theater production called "I Can Skate But I'm Going To Waste Money on Lessons and Pretend That I Can't For Some Stupid Reason" which entailed him finally "grasping" how to balance on his own. Just like Kenma, he was given the simple objective of 'make it around the rink once without grasping on the wall'.

Smug Face McGee pretended to scoot along with some trouble, leaving Akaashi free from his antics for now. While it did pique his interest that someone so obviously experienced in the basics of skating was getting lessons intended for people like poor Kenma, he didn't want to socialize his way into finding out the exact reasons for this bullshit. Doing this in the first place was to get some money for his mother and to take a break from competing for a bit and not trying to understand the inner workings of weirdos like Smug Face. But at least it did give his job an interesting shift in gears.

His attention shifted away from Smug Ass Fuckerton to address Kenma. He was halfway around the rink, a fair distance from where Akaashi now stood, still taking stuttering scoots along the ice. His eyes were laser focused on the ice floor and his skates. Though, from where Akaashi  was, it looked like he wasn't nearly as wobbly as when they began and was already making steady progress. Akaashi made a mental note to give the kid some praise on that fact. The gentle praise he gave earlier was an indication that Kenma's fears were put at ease with it.

Akaashi then set fourth to Kenma, going at a relaxed pace to not startle the boy with a sudden appearance by his new coach. But before Akaashi even made it two strides forward from his previous position, there was a loud clatter upon the ice. A quick look around confirmed that it wasn't Kenma who had fallen (thank God) but instead… 

Smuggerton McSuspicious. 

Akaashi bit back the urge to groan loudly and to high heaven. You're getting paid, Akaashi, you must stay professional, Akaashi….

He altered his course to McSmug Ass who was once more continuing his façade of shit fuckery by scrambling to hold into the wall and gain footing back onto his feet. He kept obviously faking being able to steady himself, every few seconds tumbling back onto the cold ice of the rink.

Akaashi reached Smug Face, and his face lit up with elation at the sight of Akaashi.

This was just ridiculous.

"I lost my balance. You've swept me off my feet," Smug Shit 5000 said, the suspicious twinkle in his eyes never leaving. Akaashi lent out his hand for him to take, and he helped him onto his feet.

He held back from saying anything about the fact that after helping him up, Smugfuck McSmuggy had no problem regaining his balance. Or any other show of a façade he had been maintaining this entire time. He had to keep this up for money.

Money would need to become more persuasive if he had to suffer another week with this crap.

 

* * *

 

The lessons are scheduled to only last an hour or so. Luckily, Akaashi was able to escape from Suspicious Smugass Mcfucker only about 10 minutes after he had fallen, as he then focused heavily on Kenma. He told Smug Bitch that he was doing quite well for his first lesson and should simply continue striding and that extra help wasn't necessary for now. Surprisingly, he followed his words and went off to do his own thing as he spent more time with Kenma. He showed a lot of progress in such a short amount of time; eventually he was able to stay well balanced, off the wall of the rink, and taking short but well controlled strides. If it was the effectiveness of Akaashi's teachings or the fact that Akaashi knew how to handle someone with anxiety, he couldn't say. 

He dismissed the two at 2pm. He immediately headed to the exit of the rink and made his way to his things. He finished the last bit of water from his water bottle and sat down on the bench to begin untying his skates and to put them away. Since he had recently arrived back home, he hadn't finished unpacking his things and thus was borrowing a pair from the rink for now. The used feeling of the skates, the material and weight was foreign to him; when he did a few practice jumps a few hours earlier he could feel the unnaturalness of the skates with his wobbly landings. He made a mental note to use his own next time.

He loosed up the laces and slipped them off his feet, placing them beside him on the bench after removing them. He reached into his bag and removed his tennis shoes and slipped those on and securely tied them, before closing his bag, gathering all his things, and then heading out towards the exit of the facility.

He saw Kenma and Kuroo walking out together. He saw them talking earlier, before he had introduced himself and the lesson began. They seemed to have some sort of relationship, a close friendship. Kuroo had a tenderness to his interactions with Kenma; a sort of acute awareness of each of his mannerisms and what they meant without needing to think very hard about it or ask what Kenma meant by his body language. He found it sweet that he was so accommodating towards Kenma, but quickly remembered his earlier bullshit and he frowned a little. How could he be so smug around him, but with Kenma be so tender? Perhaps his suspicious nature and light flirting were an act he maintained around people he was meeting for the first time. Whatever it was, he hoped it wouldn't get worse with time.

He returned the skates to Yachi at the counter, thanking her for all the help she had been in setting this up. She was new to the job here at the rink, giving Kiyoko a co-worker and lightening her load of work. She was kind, sweet, and gentle but awfully small and could barely handle holding a pair of skates. But she did her job to the best of her ability, and that was more than he could ask for.

"Thank you, Yachi." He said softly to her, giving her a small smile. She grinned widely back and waved goodbye as he exited the rink.

Once out, the coolness of the winter air greeted him. Inside the rink was a bit warmer, but still relatively cool. It hadn't really snowed yet, only the winter chill settling in to the town. The signs of winter were certainly there, too. Stark naked trees with brown leaves shed upon the ground, the light puffs of white coming from breaths exhaling out, the light pinches of the cold. Akaashi liked winter; it was a serenity and a peacefulness that he really enjoyed. Winter seemed to slow things down to a relaxing pace. 

He began walking home; he didn't really live that far away from the rink. Perhaps that’s why he came there so often when he was young. When he'd walk home from the train station, he'd always pass by the rink as well. And on one day during the winter holidays, his family all went to the rink together, seeing as they never had and his mother used to skate in her youth, too. He recalls fondly how his mother taught him the correct posture, the right way to weave your feet into a proper stride. That fateful day on that rink's ice got him hooked right into ice skating. Soon, he was begging to come back to the rink, to get a thrill and a happiness he hadn't felt before. Eventually he saw the Olympics, and the artistry of the figure skaters; how the event was less about pure athletics and more about beauty, grace, and elegance. How he desperately wanted to encompass that beauty into himself. He begged for a new thing from his mother: figure skating lessons. The small town wasn't known for figure skating; it was difficult to find his new teacher. He ended up having to do his training at a separate rink in a different town as it was the only coach they could find at a decent price and a fair distance away.

And his addiction to the ice grew from there.

His coach saw his artistry right away. Even with his jumps being nervous, hesitant, and wobbly, his coach saw an artistry in Akaashi. There was an untapped potential for greatness inside Akaashi, and his coach knew it would be worth the effort, time, money and commitment to coax it out of Akaashi.

Akaashi started out like Kenma. Scared. He needed praise to get the nerves to stop overwhelming him, he needed reassurance to be confident that he was doing something, anything right. Jumps were daunting to him. The thought of falling wrong and breaking his leg or ankle so badly he could no longer skate caused him to fail his jumps every single time. But with enough praise, with enough encouragement, he was able to let it sink in that it was ok to not think for once; to trust his body with what it was doing because it knew what it was doing. It would be ok. 

And once he trampled his fear, he was landing jumps with little difficulty. He was able to learn choreography in no time. When he was a first year in high school, he performed in the Junior World Cup. The exhilaration of the rink was worth how scared he felt when he first started and when he first entered the new enviornment of the competition of figure skating. The applause, the reactions, all of it--no gold medal could really compare. He was hooked. He was addicted. And he wouldn't stop doing this for the world.

Thus, he kept training. He took up dance classes with his friend, Bokuto, to improve his choreography to be more beautiful, masterful, and elegant. Perfecting jumps wasn't all of skating to him; it was the artistry, too. His ability to perform the music, to become one with the notes and to skate like a violinist plays was always his goal. He often chose music from ballets and mimicked similar footwork to those ballets in his performances. He began becoming known with this trait, for his ability to turn figure skating to a dance. He tangoed with musical notes, waltz with the pluck of strings, pirouetted with the high and dipped with the lows. He felt the music and the music felt him.

Soon, with his growing fame, ability, talent and success, he had to move on to a better coach and a better facility. His coach wasn't prepared to train such a powerhouse of raw talent. He got Akaashi in contact with a coach in Canada, and away he moved, training his hardest in his life for upcoming competitions. His new coach was hard to get used to. He was hardened and new the game of professional figure skating. There wasn't a place for hesitancy and nervousness. It was only confidence and determination. He pushed Akaashi and pushed him damn hard. And soon enough he qualified for the Olympics, and there he was broadcasted on tvs across the world, and there he became famous to the mainstream world.

And now he was back at where it all started. His hometown, his first rink. He briefly wondered if he should be training himself harder instead of just taking a break. He should be keeping himself at his peak. Perhaps he should start running again and take those dance classes again. He wondered if Bokuto was now working at the dance studio the two danced in, or if he was still simply a dancer there. Either one wouldn't surprise him. He really should call Bokuto again… 

Akaashi took out his phone and looked for Bokuto's name in his contact list. He then tapped the little phone symbol, and began calling Bokuto. Within a few rings, he answered.

"Hey hey hey! I thought you'd never call, Olympian!" Bokuto yelped into his ear. Akaashi could hear the bright, infectious grin on his face.

"Hello, Bokuto." Akaashi replied, simply.

"Hey, are you busy right now? We should go out to lunch and catch up! I've got so much to tell you," Now Akaashi could practically hear how Bokuto was bouncing with excitement at the idea. It made Akaashi smile.

"Sounds good. We could go to the local ramen shop," Akaashi offered, recalling it to be a close walk to where he currently is.

"Already on my way!" Bokuto hooted.

 

* * *

 

The ramen shop was small and familiar. Akaashi was first to arrive, and he got himself a seat and saved one for Bokuto. Soon enough, Bokuto did arrive. Quickly the two fell back into their usual habits and easily were back to how things were two years ago, before Akaashi left for Canada. They talked about everything; Akaashi found out Bokuto in fact was working at the dance studio now and in turn Bokuto learned about what life was like in Canada and how it was to learn English. They talked about things around their small little town, and the bigger world that figure skating had brought to Akaashi. They talked about Akaashi's parents, and how they and Bokuto would watch the broadcasts of Akaashi's performances live together every time they came on. It made Akaashi's cheeks light up.

Akaashi finally mentioned his new gig as a skating teacher at their local rink, and Bokuto made a strange face, looking like a surprised owl with his eyes wide and eyebrows shooting upward.

"What?" Akaashi asked, looking at Bokuto suspiciously from over the rim of his glass of water.

Bokuto's face evened out and relaxed. He waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, nothing, nothing…" He sat back in his chair. "Just.. Remembered something. How has your new job been?"

Akaashi eyed Bokuto suspiciously for a few seconds more, before deciding to drop it. "Most are aspiring young kids who really look up to me. It's wonderful seeing such determination in their eyes, even when they fail."

"You're not going to retire from skating after this, are you? Sounds like you like working with kids," Bokuto asked, quizzically.

"Not at all. I can't retire from doing what I love because I want to stay teaching, not when I'm still in my prime. I haven't had a devastating injury, I'm still able to perform at my best, why quit?" Akaashi shrugged his shoulders. "The most this will be is a break."

Bokuto nodded his head in understanding, and finished off the last of his ramen. "I can't wait to see you perform again, y'know. You're really something else on that ice,"

The sincerity in Bokuto's voice made Akaashi's heart flutter with happiness. It wasn't often Bokuto was this gentle and quiet, but that's how you knew he was being wholeheartedly genuine. He smiled.

"Thank you, Bokuto."

Bokuto smiled right back. Though, he remembered again what he recalled earlier: Kuroo was one of Akaashi's students. He could've told Akaashi all of the details of Kuroo's stupid plan… but then what? Kuroo was having his fun. Akaashi didn't complain to Bokuto about it. So, perhaps in the future, Bokuto will look back on his choice to stay silent and maybe, just maybe it'll be-- 

Priceless.


	3. You can be you

Kuroo was a fool.

He knew he couldn't keep his charade up. He knew he couldn't. Not only was he terrible at acting, but he was also terrible at lying and he was also really not into lying and acting. So when the next lesson he had with Akaashi, he walked in with Kenma at his side and decided to give the whole jig up. He couldn't believe he really went through with this in the first place. Perhaps his nature of being whole heartedly confident in himself pushed him to think this was feasible, but he did have some sort of a logical mind. Now he was aware that this was really stupid and just… not genuine if he wanted to go anywhere with Akaashi, if he could at all.

Kuroo was a damn fool.

But what would he do after telling Akaashi this? Stop taking lessons? He really did want to get to know Akaashi; sure he was extremely physically attractive to Kuroo and that was one reason for his attraction, but the enigma behind the beauty of Akaashi was now another appealing factor to him. A new reason to be magnetized to him. Maybe he should just try and asking Akaashi out, point blank. But what if he said no, because he lied to Akaashi's face for what seemed to be shits and giggles?

Kuroo sighed heavily. 

Kenma looked up at him. "What are you sighing about?" 

"I'm a fool, Kenma."

"Yes, yes you are."

The two of them then fell back into their shared silence. And in that shared silence they entered the skating rink. Akaashi was already there, unsurprisingly. The sound of his skates slicing through the ice was the only sound to be heard bouncing around the spacious area. Kuroo looked over to the rink itself, and there he saw Akaashi land a perfect quad. His heart fluttered. How did things end up right here? His idol and a guy he was really attracted to, right here in his town at his rink giving him lessons. He tore his eyes away from the ice.

The two of them went up to the counter and got their skates. Kiyoko was at the counter today. She was much quieter than Yachi, but clearly more experienced. She got the skates with time to spare. She thanked them both politely and off they went on their merry way to the lesson.

They then sat on the bench to put on their skates in more shared silence. Kuroo was the first to get his skates on and he got up. "Do you want help walking to the rink?" He asked Kenma. He shook his head.

"I think I'll be ok," He replied, finishing up lacing his skates and standing up. Kuroo nodded and headed into the rink by himself, and again he saw Akaashi. He was doing a lap around the rink, doing small turns here and there, nothing really remarkable. Akaashi saw Kuroo by the wall of the rink and he made his way over.

Kenma made his way beside Kuroo before Akaashi arrived. "Good to see you two back," He said. "Are you two comfortable being without the wall?" 

Kenma nodded, and Kuroo bit his lip. Akaashi raised an eyebrow.

"Do you still need the wall, Kuroo?" He asked, cocking his head slightly to the side.

Kenma looked up at Kuroo. Kuroo swallowed. No better time than now, right?

"…I don't need the wall. Or these beginner lessons," He admitted. Akaashi looked at him with surprise.

"Do you need more advanced lessons, then?"

Kuroo looked at him, dumbfounded. This was not what he was expecting. He wasn't sure what to say; his mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to find the words. Where was the…. Anything that acknowledged he paid $20 to lie about being bad at skating? That he wasted Akaashi's time?

"I don't mind providing you with lessons appropriate to your skill level, especially if you don't need to learn the basics."

"….Uh…" Kuroo swallowed thickly. "Sure, why not?"

Kuroo was the biggest fool to ever exist.

 

* * *

  

After that exchange, Kuroo was told to simply do his own thing around the rink as Akaashi focused on Kenma for the lesson. He ended up waiting on the bench near his and Kenma's stuff, watching how gentle Akaashi was with Kenma and how much progress they were making together. It made Kuroo happy that Akaashi wasn't another person who would push Kenma harshly. Kenma needed to take things slower and to take smaller steps. Only then would Kenma really be tapped into his full potential. It's how he got so good at volleyball and setting; taking his time.

Eventually, the lesson was over. Kenma skated smoothly back to the exit of the rink, his cheeks a light pink from the cold. He sat down on the bench next to Kuroo and began taking off his skates.

"You looked really good on the ice today. You're making a lot of progress," He commented. 

"Akaashi's a good teacher." He replied simply. 

Speaking of the devil, Akaashi exited the rink not too soon after. 

"It's time for your lesson." Akaashi simply said, and Kuroo blinked up at him. He didn't think they'd have a lesson right after Kenma's then again, he wasn't sure why he would've been waiting for Akaashi in the first place. Maybe to talk about these 'advanced lessons', but most certainly not to have one the same day.

Akaashi noticed this fact, evidenced by Kuroo's lack of skates. "Did you think we weren't going to have one?"

Kuroo shrugged. "It didn't really cross my mind, I guess." Kuroo, luckily, didn't return his skates and went through the motions to put them back on. Kenma placed his hand gently on Kuroo's shoulder. 

"I'm going to head out."

Kuroo nodded, and Kenma got up and headed out, dropping off his skates before leaving the rink. Within that time, Kuroo got his skates on and stood at his full height. Then, at Akaashi's lead the two of them entered the rink once more. They started a slow circling around the rink, side by side.

"How much do you know to do in skating, besides the basics?" Akaashi asked. As he strode, his hands were behind his back and his posture was immaculate and straight. Kuroo became really conscious of his normal slouch now and straightened his back.

"If I try really hard, I can do a shitty jump. I've never really been professionally trained to do the fancy stuff,"

"Well, do you want to, Kuroo?" Akaashi looked over at him. "With your age it'd be hard to break out into the competition world, but it wouldn't be impossible."

Kuroo was once again dumbfounded. Akaashi not only didn't really seem to care Kuroo had lied about his skill level, but believed that he was interested in competing. Though he wasn't entirely wrong--Kuroo had always been into competitive figure skating--he was always discouraged because, well, he was already good at volleyball and his body was built for that. Why try to be good at something else? Plus--more time with Akaashi Keiji.

"It'd be pretty cool to learn the jumps and stuff, but competing…" He shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno if I'd be good enough to reach that level. Especially when an angel like you makes it impossible for us mortals to do that well,"

Akaashi didn't acknowledge the flirtacious compliment thrown his way, his head facing forward once more as he went quiet, thinking of his next response.

"It wouldn't hurt to try and find out, no?" Akaashi asked, then gliding to a smooth stop and turning to face Kuroo. Abruptly, Kuroo managed to stop but with little of the same grace as Akaashi. 

"I… I guess not." He grinned.

Akaashi gave a small smile back. "We'll start with footwork, then. If you don't know how to use your feet, you will never learn to do anything else in skating."

Akaashi then began to skate once more and the lesson really began. It was a bit awkward at first, trying to get used to Akaashi's teaching style and way of explaining things, but within time the two of them were easing into each other and how to click with each other. And within time, Kuroo found out he could really easily learn simple footwork choreography; they weren't intense, complicated or really all that interesting, but Akaashi was impressed with how fast he picked up on things.

Of course, he was far from perfect. Sometimes his posture wasn't quite right, or maybe he just misinterpreted how to do things. But he made a fair amount of progress, and he was happy with what he had accomplished. It reminded him of when he began learning volleyball, how he had to start with the smaller stuff of learning simply how to hit the ball, then when to hit the ball, and so on and so fourth. He knew the importance of getting the small stuff down first before you could move on to the big stuff. You can't make the game changing spikes without knowing how to spike. You can't learn to do those amazing quads without knowing the footwork that goes into getting there in the first place.

Within an hour or so, a decent amount of progress was made. Akaashi seemed pleased with Kuroo's work, and Kuroo didn't feel as idiotic deciding to do this anymore. Even if he didn't end up competing, as ridiculous of a goal that was, it was nice learning something new. Plus, of course, he gets to spend time with Akaashi and get to know the man behind the performances.

He and Akaashi exited the rink and together removed their skates. Kuroo noticed the worn but clearly well taken care of skates on Akaashi's feet, completely unlike the rental skates provided at the rink. They had a pristine-ness that the rental skates didn't have but also a worn look that didn’t come from a bunch of different feet and different people but from one pair of feet and one person. It was unique.

Once Kuroo was free from his skates, he collected his things and stood. "Thanks for the lesson, Akaashi."

Akaashi looked up at him and smiled a small smile. "It's no problem. You're a good skater. You're coming back next week, right?"

Kuroo nodded. "Nothing better than skating with the angel of the ice," He smirked.

Akaashi rolled his eyes, having no other response to his comment. "I'll see you next week, then."

Kuroo gave another nod and a wink. "You can count on it, angel." 

And with that, Akaashi went back to tying up his shoes, his hair falling over his face as he did so. Kuroo then turned and headed on out, dropping off his skates first before exiting the building. Whatever the hell Kuroo had started, it seemed like it would end up being… not a train wreck. Being personally trained by Akaashi fucking Keiji? What more could he ask for?

 

* * *

 

When Kuroo returned home, he immediately whipped out his phone and texted Bokuto. There was no way he couldn't text his best bro about this new advancement in his life.

**Me**

Bro

Bro

Brokuto

U will never believe what just happened

**Brokuto**

??????

Wat the FUCK is up bro

Wat happened

**Me**

Bruh so like

I told akaash that im not a beginner at skating rite

That #lyinglyfe isnt 4 me bro

And like????

He was like "ok how about advanced lessons"

He legit thinks I can b like. A pro

**Brokuto**

Holy shit

Ur fuckin in

*hacker voice* ur IN!!!

Now u gotta be a pro skater

Srry I don’t make the rules

**Me**

Is it bad im legit considering it

**Brokuto**

FUCK no

Do it

Mayb u and akaash will like. Fall in figure skating love

**Me**

Omg omg shut up bro

That’s gay

**Brokuto**

But ur gay

**Me**

YEAH!!!! I KNOW

But its still fuckin GAY

**Brokuto**

That’s the point now get some d i c k 

Kuroo tossed his phone next to him on his bed and fell back. He bounced a little upon the springs and sighed heavily. He closed his eyes and wondered how long he'd be invested in this skating thing. His volleyball career always came first--but what would happen if he really did get really good at skating, too? Would he actually manage to compete and get somewhere with it? It seemed far fetched, but Akaashi did have some faith in him. Maybe Akaashi just had a natural optimism, some belief that if you tried hard at anything, any limits you thought you had would fall away and no longer hold you back. Whatever it was, it did make him feel good and confident. There was no harm in that, right?

Whatever happens, it will happen. Things happen for a reason.

 

* * *

 

The next lesson, much like the one before it, took place the same day as Kenma's and happened after Kenma had his time with Akaashi. Kenma was now able to speed up his skating and was now focused on learning to slow down and actually come to a stop, rather than just kinda… skate to a wall and have that stop him. He did fall a few times, but he did look determined to keep going at it and keep trying. Kuroo found himself with a small smile as he watched them. Seeing Akaashi be so ginger and caring with Kenma didn’t help him growing more and more attracted to Akaashi. 

This time around, though, Kuroo spent some of his time waiting watching the broadcast of the Senior World Cup on the tv in the are with the skates racks. Kiyoko was there again that day, and she sat watching the program too. He saw Oikawa Tooru, another big name for Japan, competing; his work was stunning. He was flamboyant, flirtatious, and unafraid to be more daring and open with emotion. Kuroo would be lying if he said that confidence wasn't attractive. Maybe Kuroo had a thing for skaters but who could blame him? Pretty much all skaters had a strength and beauty you couldn't find anywhere else. He watched a few more performances before Akaashi was tapping at his shoulder, signaling that it was his turn on the ice with Akaashi. He said his goodbyes to Kenma before joining Akaashi onto the ice.

They started off by simply skating around the perimeter of the rink, much like last time. "You know about partnered skating, right, Kuroo?" Akaashi asked, looking at Kuroo from the corner of his eye.

He nodded. "I've seen a few performances," And they really weren't Kuroo's thing. The talent required was impressive, but he preferred the individualism more present in those performing alone than in pairs. "You want to do some partnered dances with me? Aren't you a romantic," 

Akaashi ignored his second comment entirely. "I want to try doing something like it with you to see if you remember what we learned last time."

Kuroo raised his brows. "You mean the synchronized footwork thing, right? Or the romantic ice dance part?"

"The footwork. These are skating lessons, not dates." Akaashi then turned and made his way toward the middle of the ice. "I think it'll be interesting to see how you do." 

Kuroo joined him in the middle not too soon after. Once he was there, Akaashi gave no warning and simply began, catching Kuroo off guard. Luckily, the first step sequence was rather simple, and Kuroo managed to get in sync with him within a few seconds. Akaashi made sure to keep his eye on Kuroo and to not do anything really bat shit crazy; Kuroo had done step sequences previously with minimal struggle, but doing them like this was different. The added movement around the rink added an element Kuroo hadn't done before.

He kept up well. He wasn't entirely in sync with Akaashi and he wasn't expected to be. That level of synchronization was difficult to get right the first time and required a bond with your partner that can't be forged in 2 days. But considering that, Kuroo was doing very, very well. Akaashi made subtle changes to the footwork as more time passed. His foot went out instead of in, or he turned instead of stayed in a linear path. It seemed like Kuroo was able to pick up those changes before Akaashi even did them. He did stumble but never fell. Akaashi was impressed.

The rest of the lesson went on like this, the mimicking of Akaashi's movements and steps. Kuroo found himself thinking less and less about the exacts of the movements the more he did them. Soon, he felt like he was on autopilot. The forefront of his thoughts weren't focused on _left foot forward, right turn and back_ or something like that. It felt like the same autopilot as when he played volleyball. His body knew where to go and when. While the same steps were being repeated, over and over again, Akaashi's minor changes made it feel like a new dance each and every time. He wondered if this was how Akaashi was trained to skate when he began his training for competitions.

Then, Akaashi did a small little hop, and was now skating backwards. A little confused by this move, it delayed Kuroo's response but he did it, but with much less grace and less of a hop but an awkward turn. And then Akaashi's arms extended outward as he curved along the ice, still skating backwards. Not really sure what else to do and snapped out of his previous revere, he copied Akaashi's movements. It didn't really click together in Kuroo's mind of what Akaashi was doing until his movements kind of… paused? He was still moving backwards but then he looked like he was preparing for something and then Kuroo knew what was happening and then--

 He jumped.

And then they crashed.

They crashed and tumbled down quickly. Kuroo heard Akaashi let out a noise of surprise. Akaashi had landed on his back, and Kuroo landed on his side not too far away in a loud clatter of skates and the dull thud of bodies landing on ice. His arm dully throbbed in pain, but he was sure he was fine. He pushed himself upwards to sit upright and looked over at Akaashi. He was also pulling himself to sit upright.

"A-are you ok?" Kuroo asked, eyes wide and his heart pounding. 

Akaashi looked over at Kuroo, his eyes scanning over him. "Are you ok, Kuroo? It slipped my mind that you can't jump… I apologize." Akaashi then locked eyes with Kuroo, his eyes filled with a flurry of emotions.

"I'm.. I'm fine. I'm just worried that I just hurt an Olympic athlete for good," He let out an airy chuckle. 

"I'm already on a break. I'm sure any injury I've sustained can be healed just fine," He then pushed himself up and onto his feet, taking his time to make sure his legs weren't injured before he tried and put weight upon them. He seemed fine to Kuroo as he did this. He then moved toward Kuroo and extended a hand out to him to help him up. Kuroo took it, and carefully got himself back onto his feet. For someone shorter than Kuroo, Akaashi had quite some strength within him. He was easily able to keep Kuroo steady as he got up.

Kuroo's left arm, the arm he landed on, felt a little bruised and sore, but not extraordinarily damaged or broken. He rolled his shoulder to make sure, as well as bending his elbow and wrist and flexing his fingers. Slight pain, but everything was in working order. He brushed some ice off of his arm, too. Akaashi was staring at him with wide, concerned eyes as he did this before he tore his eyes away from his arm and looked to Kuroo's face.

"You're ok?" Akaashi asked again. Kuroo nodded.

"The worst I probably have is a bruise." He replied. "I guess we should cut the dance short, huh." He joked, cracking a sideways grin. Akaashi hummed.

"I guess we should," He then skated toward the exit of the rink, careful with his movements. As he stepped down to the carpeted floor, he looked back at Kuroo, who was close on his tail. "Do you mind if I look over your arm, just to be sure?" 

Kuroo blinked, surprised at his question. "Uh… yeah. I'm fine with that," He then thought of some dumb flirty joke he could say, but perhaps now wasn't the best time for his antics. He kept silent as he followed after Akaashi to the nearest bench. 

Kiyoko then rushed up to the two of them, holding an ice pack and a first aid kit. "I heard a crash earlier. Are you two ok?" She asked, eyes roving quickly over the two of them for any obvious outside injuries.

"We are both ok, only crashed into each other on accident. Thank you for your concern, Kiyoko." Akaashi reassured, giving her a small smile. She gave the ice pack and first aid kit to Akaashi.

"Just in case you need either the kit or the ice pack. Do tell me if you need any more assistance--II have to stay behind the counter, so if you need me, I'll be there." Akaashi nodded and gave her one final thanks before she left the two of them alone once more. Akaashi turned to Kuroo, who was now sitting upon the bench.

Without needing any prompt to do so, Kuroo slipped off the windbreaker jacket he was wearing, the classic red color from Nekoma high. The jacket wasn't so worn it was unwearable which was surprising, considering how often Kuroo wore the damn thing. He was now left in a simple black tank top. His left arm was still throbbing dully, but still had no pain that he was really concerned about. Injury was something Kuroo was not a stranger to. Hopefully though, his muscled arms were an eye candy to Akaashi. He didn't work hard at volleyball only because it made him happy--it made him fucking hot, too. 

Akaashi moved so he stood in front of Kuroo before crouching down a little to get a closer look at his arm. "It doesn't hurt to bend your arm and wrist, or to wiggle your fingers?" Akaashi asked, his hands carefully and gingerly touching Kuroo's arm as if it were made of glass. His fingers slid along his skin, gently turning his arm to the left and to the right to see if there was anything really concerning. Kuroo unconsciously smiled at this. The caution in his movements and touch made his heart flutter. This really wasn't that big of a deal, but Akaashi was dead set on making sure it wasn't.

"Nope. It just feels like it'll bruise come tomorrow." He replied, watching Akaashi as he scrutinized his arm. His fingers glided along a spot near his elbow that was red and tender. It sent a shiver down Kuroo's spine, which made Akaashi pull his fingers away. 

"Did that hurt?" He asked, immediately looking to Kuroo 

"No… Just… felt nice, I guess. It's like an angel is caressing me,"Kuroo grinned widely. Akaashi let out a small huff and withdrew his other hand, standing back up to his full height. He grabbed the ice pack, and gave it to Kuroo.

"If it gets worse, tell me. I don't want to get hurt badly because of my careless mistake." Akaashi then took a seat next to Kuroo and began unlacing and removing his skates. Kuroo placed the ice pack upon where the blooming of a bruise were on his arm, holding back a hiss at the cold touching his arm.

"Why don't you give me your number, then?" Kuroo asked, watching Akaashi as his thin, nimble fingers pulled away at the knots securing his skates to his feet with practiced ease. His movements stopped at Kuroo's question.

"What?" He asked, looking back at Kuroo.

"I have no way to contact you if my injury gets worse. So, why don't you give me your number?" Kuroo repeated, the smug look still on his face, and Akaashi was well aware of it. He went back to untying his skates.

"Once I get all my things together, I'll give it to you."

 

* * *

 

As Kuroo walked home, his bag slung over one shoulder, the ice pack still pressed upon his upper arm, and phone in his one available hand, he scrolled through his contacts and found Akaashi's number. It was ridiculous that all of this was happening. First he meets Akaashi Keiji, then gets private lessons with him, and now his phone number? It was like some sort of weird timeline of his life where things go directly where Kuroo really wants them to. He had a dumb grin on his face as he read the name over and over again on his phone screen.

Eventually, he scrolled away from the name and found Bokuto's, and immediately called him.

Bokuto picked up after a few rings, the sound of crunching the first thing Kuroo heard.

"Hey hey hey, bro!" He greeted after a second or two. It sounded like something was in his mouth. 

"Yo, Brokuto. You will never fuckin' believe what happened today."

Kuroo then recounted the whole day--the "partnered skating" shit they did, then the crash, then Akaashi being really concerned over Kuroo's well being and his ginger touches and lastly, getting his phone number. And as Bokuto listened to it all and heard the excitement in Kuroo's voice, he was right that day in the ramen shop with Akaashi, about how this was going to go. This whole thing was one thing:

Priceless.


	4. Ace in the hole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> at this point i should mention that i dont have this beta'd by anyone, so if things don't make sense/theres grammatical errors, i apologize!  
> if theyre really bad, please let me know so i can fix it ^^

Akaashi was wrong.

Akaashi really thought that he'd hate Kuroo Testurou. They didn't exactly start off that well. He was annoyed with his over exaggerated antics and terrible flirting. It wasn't the worst, but the day that it had happened had been long and grueling, filled with Akaashi trying to find new coaches and making sure he had enough money to go back to Canada or where ever he might need to go to train once again. He was left with a lot of dead ends that day. It's not like people didn't want to teach him, but either their schedules were too busy, the costs were too high, or it was some other ridiculous reason. So to go through nothing good and then Kuroo at the end of it--not ideal. But it wasn't the worst.

But when Kuroo admitted he didn't need the beginner's classes, well, Akaashi was surprised. And when he, himself, offered more advanced classes to Kuroo, that was even more surprising. And when their lesson actually went fairly decently, Akaashi didn't find Kuroo as annoying anymore. He still would flirt, but he knew when to calm it down and he took instruction very well. And Akaashi found himself liking Kuroo's presence.

Akaashi was dead wrong. 

And when he and Kuroo had crashed because Akaashi got too enveloped in his mind and Kuroo possibly bruised his arm to some degree, he, to some degree, cared about Kuroo. He liked to imagine that if he and Kenma had fallen into a similar predicament he'd do the same things for him, too. At least, that's what he told himself. He couldn't start have feelings for one of his damn students, for fuck's sake. So he took those budding feelings and cut them right at the stem and buried them deep in the back of his mind, to be forgotten and not acknowledged. He just had to be more mindful about things from now on. ed.

 

* * *

 

Akaashi had a week mostly empty and devoid of things to do. The past few weeks had been lessons every other day and days he spent training himself. This week, most of his students were unable to plan for a lesson, and thus, he had only one day to work that week.

The day normally Kenma and Kuroo both have lessons on.

He didn't really know what to do with all this damn free time. Training and exercising was an obvious choice. But Akaashi never worked out that intensely for it to really eat up time and he didn't want to overexert himself and end up with some sort of easily preventable injury. He could also go and see some movies, go shopping, check out some of the book stores near by to the train station…

As Akaashi laid in bed, mulling things away, he distantly heard his phone vibrate. It was somewhere in his rumpled pile and mass of sheets, he knew that much. He fell asleep watching some of the latest videos of skating programs by some of his skating friends. Akaashi let out a deep sigh. Now he'd have to move to find his damn phone in his mess of a bed, and he hadn't even really planned out what he would do with all this free time. 

He didn't know how Bokuto lived with this much time to do literally anything.

Finally pushing himself to sit upwards, he then rummaged around his sheets for his phone. It vibrated again as he stripped away some blankets, and then he heard a thud, undeniably his phone thunking onto the floor. He then pushed the blankets away from him so as not to become entangled and ensnared in their warmth and comfort, and retrieved his phone from the floor. The screen was still lit up from the recent notification he received. He flicked his finger across the screen, tapped in his passcode and then checked the messages.

He received two texts: one from Bokuto, the other from Kuroo. 

He rolled his eyes at how Kuroo put in his name on his phone. When they exchanged numbers, he and Kuroo swapped phones to put in the information, also allowing full creative range on how their names would appear in the contact list. Akaashi was a sensible person and simply typed in "Akaashi Keiji". Kuroo was a goddamn idiot and put "Kuroo" followed by two sparkly heart emojis. He was too lazy to be motivated enough to delete the hearts, so he decided to do that later. 

He might as well check Kuroo's message first, though. Akaashi did tell him to text him if his condition got worse. Before he thought more about this decision, he opened the message.

And was relieved, but also not surprised. 

Kuroo, had in fact, not told Akaashi he was getting worse. No, in fact, he told Akaashi he was doing just fine. 

And sent pictures.

 

**Kuroo <3**

just lettin u kno im all good thanks to u

_< 3<3<3_

_(img00045.png received!)_

_(img00046.png received!)_

 

The photos showcased Kuroo's arm with the ice pack Akaashi gave him resting over his bruise. The second image showcased Kuroo smiling like a jackass. He was also shirtless for some fucking reason in both photos. Akaashi had to resist the urge to roll his eyes so hard they'd roll to the back of his head and stay there.

 

**Me**

Kuroo, I told you to text me if your condition got worse.

Please don't send me selfies, too. 

**Kuroo <3**

I think u wanted 2 know if I was ok too ~

back on my way 2 a healthy body~

 

Akaashi didn't even bother thinking about replying to Kuroo after that, instead going to Bokuto's messages.

 

**Bokuto**

hey hey hey

akaash u wanna play vb w/ me and the bros

I kno ur not busyyyyyy 

**Me**

Will you be at the usual gym?

**Bokuto**

u know it 

**Me**

I'll be there soon.

**Bokuto**

HELL yeah

 

Well, no longer did Akaashi have to worry about not needing to do anything, at least for today. He got up from the floor, which he began sitting on after picking up his phone, and headed to his wardrobe to get an outfit together and prepare for the day. It'd been a long while, at least a year or two, since he played volleyball. He was in the volleyball club in high school, but rarely could attend due to his devotion to figure skating. He was mostly a fill in for practices where the club was divided into two teams. He never played any official tournaments or anything like that. While he found his fill with figure skating, it did make him sad to a certain degree that he couldn't be a bigger part in his volleyball club, but there was no way he could've ever balanced both, no matter how much Bokuto whined and threw fits.

After changing, Akaashi retrieved his wallet and keys before heading out the door, giving a quick goodbye and a simple summary of where he was going and that he'd be with Bokuto. And then with that, Akaashi was out the door, walking to a nearby gymnasium Bokuto and old friends from high school used just for casual games on days off from work or school or the off seasons of volleyball. It had been so long since he saw most of them; he wondered if they knew Akaashi had recently competed in the Olympics. He wondered if any of them had become professional volleyball players.

His mind continued to dwell and ponder as he walked his way to the gym.

 

* * *

 

When Akaashi entered the gym, he was greated by Bokuto almost instantaneously.

"Hey hey hey!" He hooted in his standard greeting.

"Hello, Bokuto." He replied, slipping off his shoes and putting on his athletic shoes on before stepping onto the smooth, laminated hardwood floors. The sound of thudding steps and the thumping of volleyballs being hit echoed around the large space.

"We're actually gonna have a practice with an old rival team of ours. You remember Nekoma?" Bokuto asked, and the two of them began making their way towards the action. Akaashi could see familiar faces and not so familiar faces. He easily figured out that the unknown people were probably former Nekoma players.

"Yeah. I don't really know anyone from there, besides maybe--"

Kuroo and Kenma.

His two fucking skating students. 

Seeing Kenma here wasn't as bad as seeing Kuroo here. He was surprised that Kenma even really played a sport. He didn't really seem the type to be that into it, but perhaps he only played it for his high school years and then dropped it upon graduating and moving onto college. Kenma wasn't the most talkative about his personal life during their skating lessons, so Akaashi really had no idea.

But fucking _Kuroo._  

He knew the red windbreaker jacket looked a little bit familiar when he saw Kuroo wearing it not too long ago. He didn't pay it that much mind, but now things were connecting together. Kuroo and Kenma didn't seem like they noticed Akaashi, though, too busy hitting the ball back and fourth between each other and talking about something Akaashi wasn't close enough to hear. 

"If you think I planned having Kuroo and Kenma here, I didn't. Funny coincidence though, right?" Bokuto beamed and looked down at Akaashi.

"My relationship with Kuroo is already weird enough, but I guess things can get worse." Akaashi mumbled, mostly to himself if anything.

Bokuto clapped a hand onto Akaashi's back. "Ready to play?"

Akaashi nodded, and Bokuto picked up one of the stray volleyballs that was rolling around the gym, and just like their time in high school the two of them got into the swing of things, warming up together like they used to. They switched off setting and receiving the ball back and fourth to each other, before Bokuto started to spike the ball to Akaashi for him to either set or receive. Even for not playing volleyball in at least 2 years, the ball dropped only 2 times during this entire exchange. Akaashi got so focused on where the ball was and how he'd get it over to Bokuto again that he and Bokuto now had an audience: Kuroo and Kenma. The two of them stopped their warm up a little bit ago, and Kuroo finally had noticed that Akaashi was here. He was initially tempted to say something to Akaashi or Bokuto, but the focus the two of them was clearly meant to stay intact and unbroken by anyone but Akaashi and Bokuto.

"It's not smart to fall in love with our skating teacher," Kenma said softly. Kuroo sputtered, tearing his eyes away from Bokuto and Akaashi (more specifically, Akaashi) and looked down at Kenma incredulously. 

"I'm not _in love_ \--"

"You're getting awfully close," Kenma retorted even before Kuroo could finish one coherent thought. Kuroo pouted and looked back at Bokuto and Akaashi. And then ended up just watching Akaashi again.

The grace from his talent at figure skating was translated flawlessly into his playstyle in volleyball. The way he set was with a control similar to his control on the ice right before a jump. He was deliberate and focused and executed things either perfectly or near perfectly. His ability to smoothly slow down the momentum of a high-speed ball into a lighter, slower speed was surely a talent. If Akaashi never did skating, he would've surely been great at volleyball if he had competed with Bokuto.

Perhaps it was Akaashi's other athletic background, but he didn't seem to be really exerting anything into this. While this wasn't an intense game, it really was just a warm up, normally people would at least be looking like they were just getting started to work out. A light beading of sweat at least, but Akaashi looked just like he did when Kuroo saw him for his lessons; fresh faced and alert, despite what those hooded eyes conveyed. 

Bokuto ended the revere of Kuroo by sharply catching the ball after another good toss. Akaashi was also snapped out of it. 

"I think we're all set to start," Bokuto commented, and Akaashi nodded in agreement.

After Bokuto got everyone's attention they all congregated together in the middle of the gym, and after a little rundown of the plan, people chose which teams to be on. Many found no fun in just staying with their old teammates, curious as to what the dynamic would be like playing with their rivals rather than against.

Akaashi should've really been surprised when Kuroo was really into the idea of being on a team with him, but he really wasn't.

Bokuto and Kenma were on the opposing team, Bokuto saying he wanted to know what it'd be like with Kenma and then immediately throwing an unsubtle wink to Kuroo.

For their starting position, Akaashi and Kuroo were next to each other; Akaashi was quick to notice that Kuroo had shed his Nekoma windbreaker and was wearing a similar tank top to the one he wore at the most recent lesson. A healing bruise, roughly two or so inches in size, was apparent on his arm that he had fallen on. It looked like it was healing well and ok.

"Are you showing off your arms to me or the other team?" Akaashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, are you jealous other people can see my glorious guns?" Kuroo was quick to reply. Before Akaashi could reply back, the first serve was, well, served, and everyone quickly sprung into action. While the dynamic was one all were unfamiliar with on both teams in terms of who was best at what, all of their fundamental skills were there and thus they relied on that to start. Nekoma's old libero received the serve, and out of old habit, Akaashi called out his toss after lining himself up with the trajetory of the ball. Kuroo was nearest to Akaashi, and an easier set to get off. He called out his name, and the ball went right to him. 

With a loud _whap!_ , the ball narrowly passed one of the blockers and Bokuto's team couldn't follow up afterwards, gifting the first point to Akaashi and Kuroo's team. They weren't really keeping score, though.

"A shame we never were on a volleyball team together until know," Kuroo smirked, practically sauntering back into their starting positions. "We could've been love at first spike." 

Akaashi's eyes dragged over straight to Bokuto and he glared daggers into his soul. Bokuto merely grinned brightly back at him.

The rest of this casual game continued in very much the same manner. Everyone gradually eased into each other's playstyles and within no time, there was a decent synergy between all of them to make more interesting plays. And every time Kuroo did anything minorly impressive or simply just hit the ball successfully, he'd follow up with some flirting comment or joke. Akaashi was absolutely right about Kuroo when they first met--he was a smug fuck trick ass bitch.

Eventually, Akaashi didn't even bother deadpanning something and would occasionally joke right back and make puns right back (the first time he did this, Kuroo nearly lost his mind). Those feelings Akaashi thought about earlier rose again--the thoughts that made him realized he liked Kuroo's presence. He did his best to squander them, to smash them under his metaphorical boot in his head, but the more the game went on and the more jokes they exchanged, it got harder and harder to do that. But he still tried to keep it from spilling out like an overfilled bucket.

The match only ended once everyone agreed that they were just too tired to keep going. All of them gave their all into this essentially meaningless game. It was late afternoon when they all called it quits and began to clean up the gym after the tiring set of matches. Akaashi lost count of who was in the lead and if anyone had ever won a match at any point after he started joking right back to Kuroo, so he didn't really have a good gage for how long things lasted for.

Akaashi helped round up stray balls from earlier warmups and dumbed them into the ball basket, working in silence as others softly conversed with each other about the game they just played and about certain plays within it. At one point, Kuroo had tried to receive a ball with his ankle and he ended up missing the ball by a good foot and the ensuing silence of his failure afterwards was a popular topic.

After Akaashi rounded up the last of the balls, Bokuto strode over to him. "How come you joked with Kuroo?" He immediately asked, leaning on the ball basket. Akaashi plopped in the last ball and it bounced against the others before settling still. 

"What do you mean?" Akaashi asked, looking over at Bokuto. Hopefully Bokuto wasn't going to ask if he liked Kuroo. He'd eat an entire volleyball whole if he did.

"You joked with Kuroo during the game! You _never_ make puns with me!" Ah, of course. Thank goodness he wouldn't need to consume a ball today.

"His puns are actually quite decent," Oh fuck. That was a bit of a revealing statement.

"Sooooooo, if I get better at puns, you'll do that with me?" Bokuto's eyes twinkled in anticipation. It still didn't seem like Bokuto was catching on on Akaashi's slight insinuations, so that was nice. 

"Maybe." 

"So you will?"

"Possibly."

"I'll take that as a yes!"

"Whatever makes you happy, Bokuto." 

Now that the rush of the game was over, Akaashi was more easily able to shove those thoughts and feelings away. He was going to leave the country again to train and then he'd be back on the competition trail. He didn't have time to dedicate to a relationship. It wouldn't be fair.

Yeah, it wouldn't be fair.

 

* * *

 

After the volleyball match, Akaashi said his goodbyes to Bokuto, Kuroo and Kenma. Kuroo looked like he wanted to say something but never said anything more than a "bye". And after changing out of the athletic shoes, he went home to take a quick shower, retrieve his skates and go to the ice. He hadn't skated yesterday, so it wouldn't be a stupid idea to mess around a bit and keep perfecting his jumps and his footwork. It would be a nice time to wind down and simply let himself glide into autopilot.

When he arrived home, his mother was preparing ingredients for dinner. He simply greeted her after coming home before going straight to the shower to wash off the sweat and exhaustion from his body. As soon as the hot water touched his skin, he relaxed, the tension in him washing away with the soap and suds on his body.

After finishing his shower, drying off and changing into a new set of clothes, he found his skates and headed off once again. He promised his mother he'd be home in time for dinner, and she gave him a sweet smile. 

The walk to the rink was forever engrained into his mind. It was along the path he took to get to school and to the train station. It was muscle memory at this point. He was there at the rink before he really even realized it, entering the place before snapping back to awareness of where he was.

He checked in with Yachi. He asked her if Kiyoko was working today, just so he could say hi. For a few moments, Kiyoko popped out from the back storage room and they had a short conversation about the upcoming lessons his students had booked. This week was still free, save for Friday--Kenma and Kuroo's day. The next week was back onto his usual schedule. He thanked Kiyoko and headed out to his usual bench to slip on his skates. 

The sounds of someone on the ice was unsurprising and background noise for Akaashi. There was usually someone out there on the ice, usually people on dates or young kids with bug dreams trying to copy things they saw on tv. The rink was only really empty when Akaashi had his lessons. Though, the sound of someone skating got louder and closer to where he was, and he looked up from the knot he was securing.

Kuroo was here.

Fuck. He thought he was done with Kuroo for at least today.

Kuroo came to a stop at the wall, leaning on it and leaning forward. "You here to clear your mind too? Or did you feel my presence and was drawn to me?"

Akaashi looked back down to continue tying his skates and totally not to avoid eye contact. He'd break if he looked into Kuroo's eyes. "I needed to get some practice done. I hope that's what you're doing, too." He replied, voice level and neutral.

Kuroo's mouth spread out into a wide, wide grin. "Of course I'm practicing! I've been figuring out jumps recently and using your performances as an example,"

"You couldn't just wait for a lesson with me to learn that stuff?" Akaashi asked, finishing up tying his second skate. He stood and made his way towards the closest entrance and exit to the rink. Kuroo slowly glided along the ice, following him.

"I wanted to surprise you, but I guess the surprise is dead now that you know." Kuroo shrugged his shoulders.

"Why try to surprise me? I'm already pretty impressed with your abilities," Akaashi retorted without really thinking about the implications of his words. Kuroo was quick to pick up said implications. His eyebrows shot upward.

"Oh ho ho?" Kuroo's previous grin morphed into a smirk and Akaashi then realized what the hell he just said. It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't something he should've said. Not to a person like Kuroo. "You're impressed by me? Maybe I don't have to try so hard," 

"Will that stop your flirting?" Akaashi stepped onto the ice and didn't even hesitate a single second gliding into a smooth stride across the ice. It'll make things easier for me if you did, Akaashi thought to himself.

"It's gonna take more than that to stop my flirting." Kuroo easily matched Akaashi's pace and skated next to him.

"Then impress me more and show me your jumps." Akaashi looked at Kuroo, eyes half lidded but sparked with an interest and curiosity. "You did say you were practicing them," 

Kuroo let out a small huff. "Doesn't mean I was actually able to do them, but if that's what it takes to catch your heart, then it's what I shall do."

"I said impress, but whatever makes you happy."

Kuroo didn't say another word and he started to skate a little faster around the rink. Akaashi maintained his lax stride and he trained his eyes on Kuroo. His professional mind, the mindset he had when he critically assessed his own performances, maintained a hyper focused attention on Kuroo. Kuroo turned, small and enough to now be skating backwards. It took longer than it should have to be smooth and effortless, but Akaashi couldn't blame him. His arms then extended outwards, and he curved his skating path, and then he did that pause skaters do, something he saw Akaashi do numerous times before jumping into the air and spinning.

Then when he was back on the ice, he barely even touched the ice with one of his skates before falling on the ice on his ass with a clatter and a groan.

Akaashi knew he wouldn't land cleanly before he even was in the air. He was hesitating before going into the jump. Akaashi watched unblinking as he had lost his balance and fell. Though, if he was going to be honest, it wasn't a bad place to work up from. He clearly understood a lot of the elements that went into jumps. Akaashi quickened his pace a little and made his way to Kuroo.

"Are you ok?" He asked gently, extending his hand out to him. Kuroo grimaced as he got back up onto his feet with Akaashi's help.

"Don't think my arm will be the only thing bruised after today," He said as he tenderly rubbed his bottom. He winced, possibly because he touched a sore spot.

"I'm not going to examine your ass like I did your arm last time, so don't even think about it."

"Damn, I didn't even think of that," He pouted. "I guess kissing it better is off the table, too, huh." 

"Kuroo, I'm your goddamn skating teacher. I shouldn't even be coming anywhere near your ass for any reason at all."

"Aww, you're such a buzzkill! You were so flirty during volleyball earlier…"

"Puns is flirting to you?" Akaashi bit the inside of his cheek. Was he flirting with Kuroo?

"Well, it's the way to my heart, so…" 

"Then I'll make sure to never make a pun ever again in your presence." 

Kuroo clutched at his heart, feigning heart break. He even fell to his knees and whimpered in fake pain. "Akaashi! You're a monster!"

Akaashi shrugged his shoulders. "You don't pay me to be your boyfriend."

Kuroo instantly lit up, and got back onto his feet. "Does that mean I can pay you to date me?" 

"Absolutely not. Don't twist my words."

Kuroo now looked like a kicked puppy, and he pouted. "You're a heartless, cruel monster."

* * *

The rest of their time at the rink was actually more productive than Akaashi thought it would end up being. Akaashi never kissed or saw Kuroo's bare ass, but he did constantly ask Kuroo if he was ok and to remind him not to push himself. It didn't make Akaashi too comforted that he caused now two (2) injuries to Kuroo. Luckily, however, neither of them crashed into each other again, fell on their ass, or sustained some other injury.

Akaashi gave Kuroo some pointers on jumps, his main one being to never hesitate. The minute you doubt yourself, overthink, or so much as spend 1 second focused on anything else, your jump would be a failure before you even were in the air. Akaashi had to learn this the hard way. Kuroo didn't jump for the rest of their time together, Akaashi deciding that maybe something smart to get Kuroo more used to jumps and getting comfortable and trusting with his body was doing spins, since speeds get close to how fast you spin for triples and quads.

Their time together ended once Akaashi heard his phone ringing from across the rink.

"Hello?" He answered, and immediately felt a pang of guilt wash over him when he heard the voice on the other line. It was his mother, and he was late to dinner.

And after that phone call, Akaashi took his leave. Kuroo told him he'd stay in the rink. Around this time, too, other people were entering the rink, mostly couples and families with older kids. Some of the kids there said hi to Akaashi as he made his way out the rink and back home.

When he arrived home, his mother was placing a plate of food right onto the dinner table, across from another plate. He frowned, realizing his mother waited to eat so she could eat with Akaashi. It was extraordinarily sweet, and it made his guilt at loosing track of the time about 50 times worse.

"I'm so sorry for being late, mom. I got caught up at the rink," He slipped off his shoes and put on his house slippers, placing his skates near the doorway before doing straight to the dinner table.

"Don't worry. I'm just glad you still make time for me even with all your skating stuff." She straightened up after placing down utensils and smiled warmly at Akaashi. "If you're late to dinner because of skating, I won't mind starving. You work so hard and got so far." She then gestured for Akaashi to come closer, and the two of them hugged.

Her words made him feel impossibly worse. He couldn't imagine how she felt only having the small tv to see her son on, being unable to call him most the time due to his long hours dedicated to training and competition. He couldn't imagine how lonely she must've been, eating alone, cooking alone, being alone. His father passed some years ago, and Akaashi was all she had left. And today, when he promised to eat dinner with her, he was fucking late because he was with Kuroo. Despite how amazing his mother's cooking was, he had no appetite thanks to the guilt settling heavy in his stomach.

She slowly moved back from Akaashi, her hands settling on his forearms. "Let's eat now, yes?" Akaashi nodded, and the two settled down and ate.

He did his best to eat as much as he could, knowing that even without an appetite, he had a busy, laboring day with lots of physical activity. His body needed the energy from food if he didn't want to loose his strength. 

"Did you bump into a skating friend while at the rink?" His mom asked after a long while of collective silence, save for the scrapes of utensils onto plates and the light thud of a cup touching the table after being drunk from.

"No, I bumped into one of my students. Why are you asking?" He flicked his eyes up to look at his mother. She shrugged her shoulders.

"You're more punctual if you skate or train alone. When you're with friends, you lose track of the time a lot." She replied. Akaashi's own perception came from somewhere, and that somewhere was his mother. He smiled, unsurprised at how easily she came to those conclusions.

"I wouldn't say he's my friend, but he's roughly my age, so it is easier to hang out with him than most of the middle schoolers I teach." His mother raised an eyebrow.

"Hang out? If you've hung out, I'd say you're friends, even if he's your student." She paused to take a long sip from her tea before continuing. "I'm glad you're not alone out here after being away for so long, though. It makes me happy that you're being with your friends."

"It is nice to be back and to see them," Akaashi replied, his voice quieter. The conversation slowly faded away after that. And after a few minutes, Akaashi managed to finish his food. He thanked his mother for the meal, and after lightly rinsing the plates, he neatly stacked them in the sink to be cleaned later. He placed a kiss to his mother's head before excusing himself to bed, his body tired from all he had done today. 

He decided against taking another shower, thinking it'd be better to just do that tomorrow when he didn't want to sink into his bed as much as he did now. He collected his skates from the doorway and headed into his room, dropping them off by his desk before collapsing into his bed. 

He laid there like that for at least a few minutes, feeling like his body was melting into the cool, soft and comfortable blankets and mattress he was now laying on until he yelled at himself enough to get out of bed to change and then succumb to the bliss of his bed. He pushed himself up, peeled off his clothes and slipped on his pajamas before retrieving his phone from his jacket pocket and falling back onto his bed.

He saw that he received a text from Kuroo, and since he really had nothing else to check, he opened it and saw an image followed by a text. The image showed Kuroo smiling and throwing a peace sign to the camera. Akaashi really didn't understand why Kuroo thought it necessary to send a photo to him and text him about dumb shit, but he read the messages anyways.

 

**Kuroo <3**

_(img.00047.png received!)_

my ass may hurt like a bitch for a few days

but spending time w/ u??????

priceless.


	5. At least i have nothing

Kuroo was fascinated.

Following the conclusion of the volleyball game with Akaashi, Bokuto and Kenma and after having an impromptu lesson with Akaashi at the rink the same day, Kuroo was extremely content. He was getting closer to one of his biggest idols and inspirations and learning more and more about the enigma of Akaashi Keiji. He learned he was kind and empathetic, evidenced by his gentleness when teaching Kenma to skate. He saw the best in people, evidenced by how he saw Kuroo's potential in being good enough to professionally skate. He was talented in many ways, evidenced by his clear caliber of skill in skating and in volleyball. He did have a sense of humor, evidenced by how he actually joked with Kuroo during the volleyball game.

The more he learned, the more he wanted to know more about Akaashi.

Kuroo was fucking fascinated.

Maybe it was his desire to be closer with Akaashi that made Kuroo come back to the rink as often as he possibly could, practicing all he remembered being taught in the past few weeks with him. He made up simple choreography to practice footwork and spins and eventually started getting used to entering jumps with little non-rotational jump exercises he found online. He watched countless videos of different jumps and different explanations for how to do them, almost getting extremely obsessed with learning more advanced skating techniques. 

And that's why he's here today, to practice even more. At this point, Kiyoko and Yachi barely batted an eyelash at Kuroo's entrance, even having short conversations with him about the recent results of skating competitions.

He was leaning on the edge of the rink's wall, and he was watching another video of a double jump. Kuroo could now jump and do a short, slow spin, and now he was working on making that spin go even faster. He watched as the skater in the video kept their body straight and tight in the air in order to spin faster in the air. It was so fucking hard to do that in actuality, at least for Kuroo currently. He often pulled his limbs in too goddamn late and would end up clattering on the ice. He couldn't really figure out a new way to practice pulling his limbs in faster and faster that wasn't just do the jump and pray you do it even faster.

Kuroo paused the video and dropped his head down to rest on his forearms. It felt like he hit a brick wall that prevented him from improving and he had no idea what he could do to get over or around this wall. Perhaps it was a good thing he had a lesson with Akaashi. Perhaps he knew how to help him out.

Yeah. Akaashi should know how to help him.

 

* * *

 

Kenma softly knocked on Kuroo's apartmento door, and after hearing Kuroo call out a "come in", he twisted the knob and entered. He locked the door behind him, standing at the doorway. He stared at Kuroo, who was laying on his couch sprawled out, a chip bowl on his stomach and his eyes glued to a rerun of one of the programs from the world cup. Kenma rolled his eyes at this ridiculous display. 

"Are you gonna get off your ass?" He said flatly, pulling out his phone and mindlessly tapping at it. 

"In a sec," Kuroo grumbled in reply, eyes now squinting as he watched the skater go into a jump and pretty much instantly pulling everything as close to their center. Maybe it took more core strength to do that. Skaters were fucking buff. But Kuroo felt he already had a lot of that from volleyball (which he really should be focusing more on) because it required lots of movement and power, but maybe it wasn't enough? Or maybe it was just practice. Lots and lots more practice. Kuroo groaned and turned off the tv before he kept doing this for another 2 hours. He pushed himself off the couch and set the chip bowl onto the coffee table. 

"Lemme get my keys and we'll head out," Kuroo called out to Kenma, who merely hummed in reply as he continued tapping away. 

Kuroo headed into his room and grabbed his keys before returning and slipping on his shoes at the doorway. Kenma turned off his phone and slipped it into his pocket.

After leaving the apartment and going down the steps that led up to it, they made their usual commute to the rink. It was a fair walk away, about 15 minutes of walking. Taking a bus or taxi would be wholly unnecessary. And thus they walked.

They mostly walked in silence unless Kenma brought something up or Kuroo wanted to talk about something. But today, it was a silent day. Kuroo was still trying to think about how he could make pulling his limbs in faster an easier affair. There had to be something he could try, some sort of trick that made it easier. He would never be able to jump if he couldn't just get down one of the most important parts for fuck's sake.

Kenma peered up at Kuroo. "You're quiet," He commented.

"I'm thinking about stuff." Kuroo replied, brows furrowing inward and he bit the inside of his cheek.

"Oh? You're thinking?" Kenma joked, but his voice stayed with the same flat inflections.

"Oh shush. I'm trying to figure out how to do jumps. I can't get my arms and legs close to my center fast enough." Kuroo huffed, running a hand through his hair and mussing it further.

"Why are you trying so hard at skating?" Kenma asked, looking down at something on his phone. "Isn't your passion volleyball?"

Kuroo almost stopped walking at that question. The instant answer his brain provided was Akaashi. Akaashi was the one who suggested it and he saw no reason to say no, so…. 

Kuroo didn't really know how to reply.

"It's Akaashi, right?" Kenma asked in response to the silence.

"I guess so." Kuroo mumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Guess I want to impress him," He shrugged. 

"You've been slacking in practice. It's not bad you've found a new interest… but…" Kenma paused. "You have volleyball that needs more of that attention and focus." 

Kuroo sighed. Kenma was right. Impressing Akaashi wasn't really worth him slacking off in practice because he was looking forward to practicing more skating. He wanted to go far in volleyball, not skating. Then why did was he still taking these lessons and practicing on his own time? Why did he just spend hours analyzing successful jumps by other skaters, hours on tutorials on YouTube, hours on trying to wrap his mind around his current issue?

Perhaps it was because it was the first time in a long time that he actually struggled to improve on a sport. He's been playing volleyball for so long that there wasn't much to learn anymore but rather things he needed to improve. He didn't need to learn to spike, set, receive, serve or block anymore. He just needed to get better at it. But now he was trying to learn to skate, and the desire to learn more and all there was to was sparking his determination and motivation like it had when he was in middle school, first learning volleyball. The reward for getting this jump shit down would be more fulfilling than just… further perfecting his spikes.  

"It's just nice to do something new, I guess." Kuroo finally replied after a long stretch of silence of drowning in his thoughts.

They reached the rink just a little bit later, the conversation fizzling and fading away. Kuroo held the door open for Kenma who was still looking down at his phone and followed him inside.  

Kenma went to the counter and Kuroo saw that Yachi was there today. Kuroo hung back, not moving from the doorway. He then looked to the rink, where Akaashi was, as per usual. He landed two jumps in quick succession before making his way around the rink.

Kuroo thought again about what Kenma said.

And Kuroo walked to the counter, joining Kenma, and he looked dead at Yachi.  

"Can you cancel my lessons from today onward?"

Yachi nodded. Kenma looked at him. 

Volleyball was his future, not skating, Kuroo reminded himself.

 

* * *

 

Today during Kuroo's volleyball practice, he nearly got pelted in the face with a ball.

From across the net, Kenma tutted and rolled his eyes, unsurprised. Kuroo had become air-headed after dropping skating entirely and going cold turkey.

After insisting to his teammates that he was ok, and that nothing hurt, and that yes, he could still play, he chided himself to get his shit together again and pay attention to the now and not any other time or thing. But that was easier said than done; he kept thinking about how much he really missed how he felt nailing something new on the ice, how nice it felt to get praise from Akaashi, how nice it was to learn more about skating and Akaashi-- 

Kenma gently grasped Kuroo's forearm and gave a light squeeze. "Do you need to sit out? If you're this distracted, you'll get hurt."

Kuroo shook his head, in response to Kenma and to clear his head. "I'll be fine."

Kenma's hand slipped away and he said nothing more, leaving Kuroo be. 

The rest of the practice went without any major incidents. Kuroo managed to force himself to be focused enough to at least put in some effort but it wasn't his best and his coach and teammates noticed it. But they avoided asking Kuroo about it, knowing that it was best to leave Kuroo be. If he wanted someone to talk to about whatever was his problem, he'd talk to someone.

After cleaning up the gym after the practice, the team filtered out the gym and to the locker room to change and head out for the night. Kuroo was quiet as he changed, rather slow in his movements too. He hoped Akaashi wasn't disappointed at completely dropping skating, but it wasn't realistic to do both. It hurt to let Akaashi down like that, especially when they both invested a lot into it. Kuroo sighed and pulled his shirt over his head before closing his locker and locking it with a soft click. He put his uniform into his gym bag and zipped it closed. At least now he could be more critical of skaters, knowing how much goes into it and how to do it right. 

Kuroo slung his bag over his shoulder and noticed Kenma waiting by the doorway as usual, eyes focused on his phone as per usual. Kuroo made his way to him and the two walked to the train station. 

"New game?" Kuroo asked, eyes briefly flicking down at the game Kenma was playing. It was bright and energetic, perhaps a rhythm game.  

Kenma hummed in reply, and Kuroo knew better than to have a conversation when Kenma was playing his rhythm games. Kenma's wrath was not worth the conversation.

After a few minutes, Kenma finally pocketed his phone after a tired huff. "Akaashi asked about you," Kenma began. "He wondered if you were sick." 

"Did you tell him I cancelled my lessons?" Kuroo asked, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. He was glad he didn't tell Akaashi face to face that he was going to quit. 

"No. I told him you'd tell him about it," Kenma replied nonchalantly. Of course; Kenma was never a messenger. Plus, it wasn't really his business. 

"I guess I should text him." Kuroo muttered, mostly to himself.

"That'd be smart. He looked worried about you."

They arrived at the train station a few minutes later, and after scanning their train cards and going down the stairs to the train platform, they sat down and waited patiently for the train. With how late it was, it was rather empty at the station. A few formally dressed business people were there too, and that was really it.

The train then arrived in a cloud clank-clank-clank of the train wheels on worn train tracks. The doors slid open and they entered the train, and immediately, Kenma was back to tapping away on his phone. During the late train rides after practice like this, both of them agreed that conversations were not the smartest during this time. They both were exhausted and didn't want to work their brains even more than they needed to be. 

Kuroo stared out the window of the train. He could see his reflection and Kenma's in the window across from them thanks to the darkness outside and the brightness of inside the train car. Residential areas were passed quickly. He saw 2 people walking their dogs for late night walks. He couldn't see the stars thanks to the reflection on the window obscuring his view. He then tilted his head back to lean on the window.

He should probably text Akaashi now. He had the time, it wasn't too late after the last lesson, and he would feel better if he did. His hand extracted his phone from his pocket and he dragged it upwards to meet his eyes. He unlocked his phone with practiced ease, opening the messaging app and finding Akaashi's name. When his thumbs hovered over the keyboard, Kuroo paused.

He should keep it simple, right? No reason for a 15 page essay about his life story leading up to the reason why he's ending his skating shit. There was no reason for this to be so hard. He had to do this for himself and for his team.

So it shouldn't be hard to type this crap out and send a message.

Kenma's eyes shifted from the results of one of the songs he cleared in his game to Kuroo, who was holding his phone still, eyes frozen on the screen, thumbs unmoving. 

"Akaashi's not disappointed in you. I think he's really proud of you," Kenma said, voice even softer due to the silence permeating in the train car thanks to an absence of passengers. 

Kuroo swallowed, and Kenma stayed watching him. And slowly, Kenma saw Kuroo's thumbs twitch before starting to slowly type out his message. And after reading it a few times, he pressed send.

He let out a long breath he didn't know he was holding and his arms fell down at his sides and falling slack. He was surprised his phone didn't fall out of his hands and clack onto the floor.

Now he couldn't really ever see Akaashi again, except maybe the occasional casual volleyball game like that one time. It felt nice having another passion again, too, and having to sacrifice it because it was better for his goals and future really fucking sucked. But he guessed that was just how it was to be an adult. The time you have is less and less and the things you want to do pile up, more and more. It makes him miss his high school days. 

Kuroo's phone buzzed against his hand, jumping him from his stupor. He lifted the phone back up to his eyes and saw that he got a text from Akaashi.

**Akaashi**

If you ever want to skate more with me, let me know.

Work hard in volleyball like you did for skating.

Kuroo fell slack again, letting out a curt breath. 

The train lurched to a stop, and he and Kenma got off, branching off their separate ways home.

Kuroo bid Kenma a goodnight before heading home.

* * *

Kuroo didn't go back to the rink for another week, instead spending more time at the gym, doing drills of spikes and receives and serves. He did that thing with the water bottle, where he aimed precisely to the bottle to knock it down with the ball. It was fun to do that to practice accuracy and consistency with his aim. It was the only thing he could really think of to do to spend time instead of skating. With no more lessons, there wasn't a point in practicing those skating skills anymore. 

But Akaashi's offer was really fucking tempting.

Kuroo reset the water bottle at the other side of the net, and moved to behind the serving line. He bounced the volleyball once, twice, three times before tossing it smoothly into the air and taking three steps forward, eyes focused on the ball before he jumped up high and hit the ball right towards the water bottle.

The ball curved, just like he wanted, and hit the bottle straight on. So far, Kuroo was on a 5-hit streak. He went back over to the other side of the net and put the water bottle back up, collected the volleyball, and he slinked back to behind the serving line to do it once more.

He bounced the ball, once, twice, and then stopped.

He looked over to where his gym bag was. His phone was there, a temptation to message Akaashi and to see him again. Kuroo tore his eyes away from his bag and looked back to where the water bottle sat on the other side of the net. He bounced the ball once, twice, and then stopped again. He let out a small groan and simply chucked the ball to the side to be retrieved later before practically stomping his way to his bag. He wasn't really even doing anything productive right now, so what was the harm in indulging in something fun for once?

Kuroo crouched down and dug around his bag for his phone, and after finding it, immediately texted Akaashi. 

**Me**

hey u at the rink rn?

* * *

After cleaning up the gym and collecting Kuroo's things, he left and headed out to the train station and then to the rink. Akaashi did reply to him, saying he was practicing on his own but

Kuroo was welcome to come (so long as he wasn't going to make puns and jokes the entire time). The late afternoon meant many high school students were on the train, chatting with friends or on their own. Some wore windbreakers for their school's sport teams and carried gym bags. It made Kuroo fondly remember his high school days and how his biggest worry was volleyball nationals, not how the fuck do you adult. Before Kuroo could reminisce more, the train lurched and came to a stop, and Kuroo got off, walking to the rink. A wind rolled through the trees and breezed past Kuroo, making him briefly shiver. With how often he was inside he always forgot that a thin as fuck windbreaker does nothing to break wind, let alone keep him warm.

Kuroo sucked it up, though, and within no time he was there at the rink.

Yachi was surprised to see him back, but didn't really ask anything about it, quickly retrieving skates for him and saying she was glad to see him back.

As promised, Akaashi was out on the ice. He had headphones in his ears, and this was the first time that Kuroo saw Akaashi actually doing a full choreography that wasn't broadcasted on tv and that wasn't him fucking around. And from what Kuroo could also see, it was a new choreography. 

For a couple of minutes, Kuroo just watched Akaashi as he skated. He executed his jumps flawlessly, but occasionally redid them after a disappointed shake of his head. Kuroo could really only imagine what music he was dancing to. Even without the guiding notes of an orchestra, Kuroo was fully immersed in his performance.

Akaashi must've noticed Kuroo was staring, because he paused his music and skated over to where Kuroo was by the outside walls of the rink, his breathing a bit shallow and hair mussed and messy.

"It's nice to see you back," Akaashi greeted with a small smile. Kuroo barely snapped out of his daze at the sound of his voice. 

"What can I say? I couldn't resist being away from you," He practically purred, mouth pulling into a lazy grin.

Akaashi rolled his eyes. "Any specific reason you wanted to come back?" He asked, head tilting slightly to the side.

"I missed skating. Volleyball doesn't give me the same enjoyment anymore, I guess." 

Akaashi's eyebrows raised, clearly surprised. "What do you mean? I thought you wanted to be a professional volleyball player."  

"Oh, I do. It's just that... learning to skate is more fun than doing stuff I already know how to do over and over, if that makes sense." Kuroo shrugged and sat down on a nearby bench, beginning to untie his shoe laces and put on his skates. "It's fun for me to learn to do new things than just already knowing how to do something and perfecting it."

Akaashi leaned forward on the wall, resting his head on his hand. "If skating made you so happy, in ways that volleyball didn't, why did you quit it, then?" 

"Kenma said it was getting in the way of volleyball." He tightened the laces on his skates and securely tied them. "I started spending more time skating than practicing."

Akaashi went quiet, eyes slowly blinking, clearly thinking of his next response. Kuroo finished securing his skates and was about to stand before Akaashi spoke again.

"Did you quit for yourself or for others? It doesn't seem like you wanted to quit," Kuroo looked up at Akaashi, and he was looking directly at him, eyes practically boring into his soul. 

For second time in a month, his thoughts were stopped dead in their tracks. He stopped skating because he knew Kenma was right, that he wasn't dedicating his time to the right thing, but he was happier that way. The frustration he felt trying to do just a single jump without falling on his ass once felt better than spiking his thousandth ball in a game. He felt more motivated to go to the rink more often than the days he had volleyball practice. He spent more time analyzing other skaters than volleyball matches.

Kuroo let out a long breath. 

"I guess I did it for my team. Volleyball is a game where you need everyone there, everyone present, everyone doing their part. Everyone is a limb to a body and the entire team is one person. And if I failed at my part, then the entire team is useless." Kuroo paused and rubbed his hands absentmindedly. "I don't know what to do, Akaashi." 

Akaashi stood up straight. "If you want to take your volleyball career far, then sacrificing skating was probably for the best. But you're still in college, you can still change your mind on where you want to go. I don't want to convince you to dedicate yourself to skating, because I don't know what you want. But it's something I still think you should consider."

Kuroo nodded. "I'll think about it." 

Akaashi gave a small smile, something reassuring. "I'm glad to hear that."

When Kuroo got onto the ice, he ended up asking Akaashi for advice on jumps, on any tips and tricks that might help him with his current problem. And for roughly an hour or so, the two of them worked on it together. Akaashi reminisced about his own struggle with jumps. They're the hardest thing for any skater to learn, but once they figure it out, it's all about maintaining the ability and trust in yourself to execute it perfectly each time. Akaashi told Kuroo that the first time he landed a double, he collapsed on the ice and almost cried in happiness, and his mother got him ice cream to celebrate. And a year after he finally learned to do a double, he was competing in the Junior World Cup and his rise to fame started from there.

In turn, Kuroo told Akaashi about how he first was learning spiking in volleyball. It was hard for him to figure out how to just end up in the air at the right time to hit the ball. Jumping was the obvious answer, but you had to time it perfectly and not hesitate, just like when you do a skating jump. You have to trust yourself and never doubt yourself, and soon you will have it down pat. The first time Kuroo successfully spiked a ball, he knew volleyball was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, for as long as his body could jump into the air to hit that ball.

Akaashi, at one point, offered to show Kuroo his new program he was working on. It was for a short program since he found a song he liked that was rather short. Kuroo, of course, accepted this offer, even though he had already seen it. And thus, he ended up watching Akaashi from his beginning pose to end pose perform the choreography he had done all by himself. The experience, talent and beauty that was Akaashi's standard was present in every element, from spins to jumps to footwork. Kuroo was heavily impressed by Akaashi's ability to do this all by himself and his pure musicality. It made Kuroo wonder why he thought he needed a coach when he no longer needed someone pushing him to fly when he was already gliding in the air on his own just fine.

Kuroo leaned on the wall and had a soft smile on his face as he watched Akaashi perform. Every clap of Akaashi's skates on the ice, every scrape, every glide, he could hear. And when

Akaashi skated past him, a burst of wind followed him and the scent of a light lilac lingered after he passed by. And as Kuroo's eyes stayed glued on Akaashi, he really did wonder why he dropped skating if even watching someone else skate made him so damn happy. It felt like a chore now, analyzing volleyball matches, but there was a thrill present in every program he watched and picked apart. He didn't drag himself to the rink to practice like he did when he had to go to volleyball practice.

And as Akaashi finished with his last pose, chest rising and falling with each shallow breath, his hair even more messy than it was normally thanks to all the jumps he did today, his eyes glazed and a smile on his face, Kuroo felt his heart swell.

If a picture was worth a thousand words, the walking painting that was Akaashi. 

Priceless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yknow for a slow burn fic this fire is burning REALLY slow haha whoops  
> dont worry guys im shoving in as much flirting and romantic cute shit in later chapters to help build up to it more but for now.  
> the boys are just bein guys.


	6. Sweet talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things... are now beginning to really develop... and get places...slowly but surely.....

Akaashi found a coach.  

After weeks of searching, weeks of calls, weeks of research, Akaashi found a coach. They were available to start coaching in a month, so Akaashi had that time to start packing once more and start scraping money together and booking a flight and finding housing. His old coach had given him the contact information of his new coach, and luckily they were located in Canada, where he had lived and trained before. He made sure to send copious amounts of thanks to his old coach for setting this up and getting him back onto the ice of competition rinks sooner than he really thought and planned for. But he wasn't going to complain.

Akaashi found a fucking coach.

Though, along with packing, along with scraping money together, and along with finding somewhere to live in Canada, he also had to tell his students that he could only offer one or two more skating lessons before it was all over. He was happy with the potential, progress, and enthusiasm each of his students showed him, but it didn't mean he would be happy not seeing them for at least a year. He hoped they would continue skating, in some way or another, because it was a wonderful thing.

He'd also have to say goodbye to his mother again, which sucked. She'd have to be alone again. He made a mental note to call her more often, text her more often, and send her more pictures of Canada when he returned. He was all she had left. He considered getting her a dog or a cat to keep her company, too, as a thank you gift for doing all that she had for him and being his biggest cheerleader.

Akaashi took note of all of these things in his notebook. The first step was to find and confirm that he could get an apartment or something in Canada, then the plane ticket, then informing his students...

His break felt blissfully short now that it was all over. He felt like he did a lot, but he really didn't do all that much. 

Akaashi put his pen down, stretching out his arms in front of him. He's going to have a busy few weeks ahead of him. He wondered if he should call one of his North American friends to practice his English. He hadn't spoken in the language in a while, only texting in it occasionally, so he hoped he could disguise his accent as best he could before calling about apartments in the area. Akaashi made a quick note about that before getting up and leaving his room to get a small snack.

Taking his phone with him, he went downstairs, scrolling aimlessly through twitter. His friends and acquaintances were congratulating each other on their wins and successful performances. He saw that Oikawa had won gold, unsurprisingly. He should give his congratulations to him soon, Akaashi thought. 

Akaashi grabbed a water bottle and made his way to the living room, settling underneath the kotatsu. There were some sweets on the table, a common item normally on the kotatsu table. He grabbed one of them, a small roll cake, and tore open the packaging before turning on the tv. Surfing through the channels, he soon settled on a news channel, then eating his roll cake. Oikawa was briefly mentioned by the anchors because he had broken a personal record and was in the public eye as Japan's rising star. He was expected to perform in the next winter Olympics along with Akaashi. He hummed as he watched the short clips of Oikawa's performance being played.

His focus was pulled away when his phone vibrated twice, a signal that he had received a text. He picked up his phone and checked the message, surprised that it was from Kuroo. The two of them hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks since that day at the rink when Akaashi showed a program he had choreographed and was playing around with. And since Akaashi wasn’t teaching Kuroo anymore, he found no reason to text him for any reason. They were friends, kind of, but also… Akaashi didn’t know really how to text people unless it was about an important event or something. But Kuroo hadn’t texted him about whatever nonsense he wanted to talk about at any time. Akaashi personally didn’t have a problem with it. He was someone who liked their alone time and didn’t mind not seeing or talking to people for long amounts of time. So thoughts of Kuroo were pushed all aside to focus on finding a coach up until… Kuroo texted him.

 

**Kuroo <3** 

so i thought abt what u said

and i quit vb

and if its ok

can u be my teacher again?

 

Akaashi almost had a stroke. 

Before he could really think about what he was doing, he was calling Kuroo. 

"Woah, you're calling me? Has it been so long without my voice you’re just desperate?" Kuroo answered the phone almost instantaneously. Akaashi hated that he couldhearhis smirk.

"I'm not going to talk about this over text. It's too important," Akaashi retorted. "Are you fucking stupid?"

"Woah woah woah! First off, language. Second, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I didn't tell you to quit volleyball! Are you insane?"

“I spent a lot of time thinking about it, and I think skating is better for me."

“You just started skating. And you quit it a few weeks ago."

“But I'm still in college and have time to fuck up, remember?"

Akaashi loudly sighed laying down on his back. What the hell had he done? "I can't teach you, Kuroo."

"What? Why not? Am I too hot of student that it makes it hard to teach me? In that case, I'm sorry I'm smokin' hot." 

"I found a new coach and I'm going back to Canada in a month."

There was an uncomfortably long silence after that. Akaashi felt his throat go dry and he instantly regretted saying this. But he couldn'tlie.

As the silence grew longer, Akaashi was worried that Kuroo had hung up or just straight up died. He was about to see if Kuroo was still responsive, but luckily Kuroo spoke before Akaashi opened his mouth.  

"...You're leaving?" The way he said this almost broke Akaashi's heart. Kuroo had just made the decision to devote himself to skating, and the one person who could teach him wasleaving.

For once, Akaashi didn't really know what to say. Kuroo's tone of voice threw him for a loop, and he knew there was no way he could really make it better besides putting his own career on a longer hold to train Kuroo himself. Akaashi dragged a hand down his face. If he knew this was going to happen, he wouldn't have said jack shit to Kuroo yesterday.

"A-akaashi?" Kuroo tentatively said, drawing a soft sigh from Akaashi.

"Yes. I'm leaving," Akaashi replied, his voice... so quiet. Almost a whisper.

"What can I do, then? I doubt there'd be anyone else willing to teach me advanced shit when I'm not a 14 year old with more promise,"

"Kuroo... I don't know. I'd love to train you but... I have my own career that I want to further..." Akaashi bit his lip. 

"Then I'll wait for you." Kuroo said suddenly, making Akaashi almost choke on his own spit.

"W-what?"

"I'll wait for you until you retire or stop skating or what the fuck ever, and then you can train me. I'll wait for you."

And now this was the second time Akaashi was left speechless and dumbfounded. Kuroo was really something else to have done this to Akaashi and in within the span of a few minutes.

What the hell was this conversation? Akaashi's head was spinning.

"Kuroo, that's so fucking ridiculous-"

"But I'll do it! I only trust you to teach me and you're the only one who probably can."

Akaashi pinched his nose bridge. "Kuroo... I don't know what the hell to say. You're really something else..." Akaashi mumbled.

"I'll take it as a compliment."

There was another long pause. Akaashi was thinking once more. It was rather sweet how Kuroo would wait specifically for Akaashi to finish his career to be taught by him but it also gave him the pressure ofknowingKuroo was waiting for him. Maybe that was a good thing, like those rom-com movies where two lovers wait to reunite. Except Kuroo and Akaashi were not lovers. Akaashi could feel those feelings he repressed bubbling back to the surface and he shoved them down again.

"You're just like a damn child, you know that?" Akaashi sat back upright and ran his fingers through his hair. He exhaled softly. "I need time to think this through. I still can't believe you quite volleyball for this..."

"It's what I wanted to do, and all thanks to you I know that now.” 

"And you now made my life even more complicated, thanks." Akaashi rolled his eyes.

"No problem, sugar~" 

"Ugh, I didn't call you to have you flirt with me." 

"What did you expect? I have to flirt at least once per conversation." 

"Whatever. I've got to go now, so if you need anything, text me. And don't send any more stupid selfies," 

"Aw, that's no fun."

"I didn't give you my number for your shenanigans. Goodbye, Kuroo."

"Goodbye, angel~"

And with that, Akaashi tapped the hang up button, the call ending. Akaashi put his phone face down on the table, before putting his head down in his arms. How the hell did all of this happen?

 

* * *

 

Akaashi spent the rest of his day looking for apartments in roughly the same area as he had resided before, calling his skating friends about if there were apartments or something available near where they lived, or if they didn't mind having a room mate. He made sure to have several options available: places a fair walking distance to the training facility but more expensive, places farther but cheaper, places where he'd have a room mate... He currently had a list of several different places that could be potentially where he stayed when he returned to Canada, and he was satisfied with his progress. 

After searching for housing, he called up the rink to give the news. He told Yachi to only schedule lessons for the next two weeks and then after that, he was done teaching (for now, at least). Yachi congratulated him, but did sound a bit sad that he would be leaving. She told him that he was wonderful for the time that he was here and teaching children. Akaashi thanked her, saying he'd miss her and make sure to buy her and Kiyoko souvenirs. 

And after that phone call, Akaashi collapsed on his bed. He got a few things done today, and he was happy. He had time to get things solidified and confirmed and time to get ready. 

And as Akaashi rolled over to his side, he remembered Kuroo, how stupidly ready he was to drop volleyball to pursue skating to some degree. It was childish but he did have confidence in himself and time to recover from this if it did bite him in the ass. But the fact that he said he'd wait for Akaashi just because he wanted him to be his teacher... That was ridiculous. He sighed heavily. At least he knew what he wanted. 

Akaashi then unlocked his phone and looked through the notifications he received through the day. He kept his phone on silent, not wanting to get distracted in case Bokuto wanted to text him about some cute dog he saw or something. Akaashi turned off silent mode and saw that he had received several texts from Bokuto.

When he opened them, he actually did see pictures of some dogs; specifically a shiba inu and a corgi he often saw because the owners of the dogs were his neighbors. Bokuto proudly informed Akaashi that he gave them both 'plenty of pets'. 

The next few texts were sent an hour two before the first ones, and the tone was completely different.

 

**Bokuto**  

SAJDKLAS

AKAASHI

WWHAT THE FUCK

U FOUND COAHC?

 

Akaashi had to refrain from rolling his eyes so hard they'd roll directly into his brain. He had no doubts that Kuroo told Bokuto of this news, either intentionally or not. He wasn't bothered by the fact that Bokuto knew without he himself telling him; he was more bothered with Bokuto's reaction if anything.

 

**Me**

Thank you for pictures of Nana and Koko, Bokuto.

I am glad they are doing well.

And yes, I have found a new coach.

Did Kuroo tell you?

 

**Bokuto**

koko and nana are still fat af if ur wondering

ya kuroo told me

are u mad??

i hope ur not

kuroo just needed a bro bc he made a big decision recently

and then he told me abt how u were movin back to canada

 

**Me**  

I'm not mad, Bokuto. You were bound to find out.

Is Kuroo okay?

 

**Bokuto**

ya hes all good

when the hell were u gonna tell me!!!!!

u told kuroo first but not ur best bro!!!!!!!

akaash!!!!!!

 

**Me**

I was planning to tell you first, but Kuroo needed the news first, I guess.

I couldn't lie to him about being able to teach him or being his coach.

 

**Bokuto**

what are u gonna do w/ kuroo then?

he rlly likes skating rn

dont leave him hangin :(

 

**Me**

Bokuto, I don't know.

He has promise, but he's not the youth many in competition want to see.

It'll be difficult for him to break out.

I don't doubt he can, it will just be difficult.

He's dead set on me being his coach, and I can't do that, so I don't know what to do.

 

**Bokuto**

hey hey hey

u know that thingy in skating

where theres like

partners

 

**Me**

God, Bokuto, I hope you're not thinking what I think you are.

 

**Bokuto**

partner skate with kuroo!

he will break out bc ur fame

he can train w/ u

gg ez

 

**Me**

Life isn't a "good game, easy" Bokuto

And if life were as easy as a game, that would be a good idea.

But you know there's at least 50 problems with it, right?

 

**Bokuto**

ya like what?

 

**Me**

Money, housing, Kuroo's availability, time, registration for competitions, training...

The list goes on.

 

**Bokuto**

awh come on!

itd b cute

u two would make a cute couple

<3

 

**Me**

The main motivator behind such a commitment shouldn't be how "good of a couple" we could be.

Don't tell this idea to Kuroo.

Getting his hopes even higher would be cruel.

 

**Bokuto**

:( :( :(

:(

:(

fine

but at least think abt it?

 

**Me**

I'll give it 2 seconds of thought.

 

**Bokuto**

:/

fine

i cant get more out of u?

 

**Me**

I can always forget entirely about your idea.

 

**Bokuto**  

okok

my lips are sealed

kuroo will not know about my genius idea!!

 

Akaashi then turned off his phone and set it down next to him. The idea of Kuroo being his skating partner? Leave it to Bokuto to come up with such an outlandish idea. Akaashi did think it wasn't the worst idea, but the complexities of getting it set up and actually happening were a big obstacle to get across. It was a big bucket of "what ifs". Akaashi closed his eyes and let out a soft exhale. There was a lot to get done and a lot to think about and with Kuroo on his mind more often than he wanted, things felt more hectic than he knew they were. 

Akaashi hated that Bokuto's idea wasn't bad. But making up excuses that made it more seem not worth the effort made him feel better about knowing its best not to go through with it, despite how much he kinda wanted to be thrown into the air by Kuroo.

 

* * *

 

Akaashi awoke from a nap he didn't realize he had taken when he heard soft knocks from his bedroom door. At first, he wrote it off as being part of his dream, and ignored it, but soon it dragged him into reality and it woke him up. He sleepily called out something along the lines of "yeah?" or "what?" to signal to his mother that he was awake now and responsive. 

His mother gingerly opened the door, light from the hallway spilling into his dark room. Where did the light go? It was afternoon a few minutes ago.  

His mother held a plate of food in one hand, a gentle smile on her face. 

"I took a nap, didn't I?" Akaashi mumbled, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. His clothes were crinkled and felt like they were slept in. He could feel his hair sticking up at odd angles.

"Last time I checked on you, you were asleep. I let you be, but you never came down for dinner, so I brought dinner to you." 

Akaashi couldn't help the small grin widening on his face. "Thank you," He softly said, getting up to go to his desk, moving his notebook and laptop out the way. His mother placed the food on the desk in front of him before taking a seat on his bed.

"Any luck with apartment hunting?" She asked, smoothing out his bed spread. Earlier today he had already broken the news to her about finding a coach, her being the first one he told. She bounced with joy at the news, but Akaashi knew there was a sadness behind her joy.

"It went better than the first time, perhaps because I already know what to look for and I know English now." Akaashi said in between bites of his meal, making sure to swallow before speaking.

"That's good. How about the rink? Did you notify them already?"

Akaashi nodded. "I promised Yachi I'd bring her souvenirs with how kind she was to let me offer lessons at the rink and her general kindness," 

"You're so sweet, Akaashi. It must be sad to say goodbye to all your friends again…" She picked at a loose thread in the bed spread, going quiet for a moment. "How's that Kuroo fellow you were teaching?"

Akaashi was surprised to hear her bring him up, but he didn't question it. He had brought him up at one point, mentioning Kuroo's struggle with choosing what to dedicate himself to or how to manage his time. "He quit volleyball to start skating the day after I talked to him." Akaashi paused to take a drink of water. "He's dead-set on me teaching him." 

Her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Oh? And he knows you're leaving, right?"

Akaashi nodded and proceeded to explain that, even despite him informing Kuroo he couldn't teach him in the near future, he was still determined to have only him and would wait for him. He even brought up Bokuto's ridiculous scheme.  

His mother found the idea interesting. "Partnered skating doesn't need a reliance on oneself only and doesn't require high level jumps to guarantee success. Bokuto's idea isn't bad," 

Akaashi looked at his mother in surprise. "But that's if he has the money to train with me in Canada. He's in college right now, too. Determination and want isn't strong enough to get him there,"

"But it was strong enough to make the idea an option. Plus, how do you know he isn't able to do it?" His mother stood and walked over to him. She folded her arms. "At least bring it up to Kuroo. You're assuming all these things about him without giving a chance at the truth." 

She leaned down and gave a gentle kiss to his forehead. "I'm going to head off to bed now. Goodnight, Akaashi."

Akaashi said a soft 'goodbye' back before turning back to his food, now significantly colder than it was before. His mother did have a point, and the idea still stood as not as stupid as Akaashi wanted it to be. It was still far fetched that it'd come into fruition, but it wouldn't be fair to give it a shot, at least. It wouldn't be bad to try something new, too.

Akaashi did his best to finish the rest of his cold meal before going downstairs to put the dirty dish and utensils in the sink after briefly washing them off. And when he returned to his room, he retrieved his phone from off his bed and began to type out a message to Kuroo. 

 

* * *

 

When Akaashi awoke the next morning, it was bright and he had really no recollection of having fell asleep in the first place. He was in his pajamas this time around and was nestled comfortably in his blankets. The light from the outside filtered down onto Akaashi's face. He really didn't want to get out of bed; it felt really nice to just stay nestled in his cocoon of comfort and softness and warmth, but he had things to do today. If he remembered correctly, he did have a lesson today with some of the younger kids who were always bright and optimistic. He also had to find his suitcases again and start planning out what he needed to pack.

Akaashi sighed and rolled over onto his side, curling up and relishing in the comfort he had to drag himself out of soon. Waking up really shouldn't be this hard, and yet it was one of the most difficult things Akaashi had to do.

He managed to get himself out of bed, however, and drag himself to the bathroom to take a shower and brush his teeth. And after standing there under the warm cascades of water and mindlessly scrubbing his teeth clean, he changed into his outfit for the day. His lessons today were early in the day, and with how he woke up a bit later in the morning, he spent little time relaxing around the house before it was time to go. After eating a quick snack for breakfast he collected his skates and headed on out. His mother wasn't anywhere to be seen, so he assumed she was out grocery and errand shopping at the local stores near the train station. Either that, or she was still sleeping. 

As Akaashi walked to the rink, he realized he should probably check his phone. He had emailed a few apartment owners yesterday, plus he needed to start thinking about how to pack his things efficiently and orderly before he was set out to leave. Checking his notifications he saw several emails, mostly from his skating buddies who heard news that he was returning soon.

He also saw that he had received a few texts... 

From Kuroo.

That's right, Akaashi had texted him last night. He must've sent the message and then made himself at least change before falling back asleep last night. Akaashi had almost entiely forgotten about that. He also almost forgot about why he had texted Kuroo in the first place, then it all came flooding back to him.

Bokuto's idea. His mother encouraging the idea. Akaashi asking Kuroo about the idea. That's right. 

Akaashi was now nervous to open and read the texts. It was really bold to suggest such an idea when Kuroo was basically at the same level as Akaashi was when he was 11. Plus the overseas travel part, the little time between now and going there, the meticulous plans Akaashi made and was making... Kuroo must think Akaashi was batshit insane, that somehow thrusting Kuroo right into competition and competing in partnered figure skating, something both of them have never done, was even the slightest of a good idea.

Then Akaashi remembered his mother's words. He was just speculating Kuroo's response, Kuroo's doubts and feelings and thoughts on the matter. Akaashi wasn't Kuroo. And the only way Akaashi could know if Kuroo was even the slightest ok with this was to ask him. Which is why he did ask him. And which is why he isnowgoing to open the text and read Kuroo's reply--

Akaashi's thumb hovered over the notification with Kuroo's name attached to it. But he didn't tap on it.

C'mon Akaashi--it wasn't that big of a deal. You asked a simple question, and you were going to get a simple reply. Easy!  

Except this was a big ass question and whatever response he was going to get was going to be a big ass reply. Especially with Kuroo.

Akaashi let out a huff of air, frowning at himself. At this point, Akaashi had stopped walking entirely and was staring at his phone and stiff thumb like some sort of jackass.

Fuck. It was now or never, Akaashi. 

He screwed his eyes shut and a little aggressively, tapped on the notification, and the texts from Kuroo opened on his phone. He opened his eyes after a few seconds, and he could feel his heart beating rapidly. 

 

**Kuroo <3** 

dude wtf

hell yeah!!!!!!

 

At this point, Akaashi was never ever going to be sure what he expected from Kuroo. Akaashi's eyes could've drilled a hole into his phone with how aggressively he stared at the message before him.

 

**Me**

What do you mean, "hell yeah"?

There's more to this than saying "hell yeah".

 

After replying, Akaashi shoved his phone into his pocket and began walking once more, quickening his pace as he had wasted quite some time trying to open a message that shouldn't have been as nerve wracking as it was. The rink was in sight when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and made sure to keep walking, opening the message.

 

**Kuroo <3**

well duh

but like???? its such a good idea

so imma figure a bunch of shit out

and do everything 2 make it happen

 

**Me**  

If you need any help, I'm available.

 

**Kuroo <3**

<3<3<3

ooooo we could be roommates !!!!

saves money, saves time

one problem: solved

 

**Me**  

I'll consider it.

I do think you're very capable of setting things on fire too easily.

 

**Kuroo <3** 

awh have faith in me

im a rlly good cook ;)

 

**Me**  

I guess you'll have to prove it to me.

For now, I don't trust you.

 

**Kuroo <3**

;) ;)

oh hell yeah ill prove it to u 

 

**Me**  

If you need me, only text me important things.

I have a lesson now.

 

**Kuroo <3**

ohhhh so busy~

ill leave u be then~

 

Akaashi shoved his phone back into his pocket and entered the rink. The fact that any of this was happening was really all of Akaashi's fault. He suggested Kuroo to take skating a little bit more seriously and now, Kuroo might actually be his skating partner.

Though, in all honesty, maybe this wouldn’t be a train wreck. Kuroo wasn’t a bad skater and was learning quite fast. So maybe this decision will end up being worth more than he thought, perhaps even it’ll be—

Priceless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and they were roommates!
> 
> ....oh my god they were roommates...


	7. Move

Kuroo didn't know how it happened.

Somehow, he went from hearing Akaashi Keiji was teaching skating at a local rink, to being taught by Akaashi, to then being really taught by Akaashi, quitting volleyball because of some advice Akaashi gave him, to now possibly being his skating partner. When Kuroo thought about it all, it made his head spin like crazy. There were times where he felt like he should slow the fuck down and really think things through, but another part of him kept saying that if he stopped to mull things over, his opportunities would pass him by. So he spent less time thinking and more time doing. And shit, he did a lot. 

In the week after Akaashi brought up the idea of skating together as partners, Kuroo was talking nonstop to a bunch of fucking people. He talked to countless administrators and professors at his college about what he should do--take online classes? Pause his education? Just not do this shit at all? Most of the people he talked to said it'll be smart to pause his education. If he was really going to move to Canada, it was easier to start back up again and take online courses there than it was in Japan, so he had that to count on. He just had to guarantee that he'd be going to Canada with Akaashi. 

Next, he talked to his parents about this. They were apprehensive at first, but eventually came to, trusting that Kuroo knew what he was getting into and ultimately, if things went south, it was up to him to fix it. His parents agreed to give him some money for the plane trip to Canada, but any money for rent and such was something he'd have to gather himself. He was grateful for any help at all, and thanked his parents relentlessly.

He then assessed the money he had in his bank account currently. He was smart enough to have been saving and keeping at least $1,000 in his account for an emergency. He thought heavily and researched thoroughly about currency exchange, how much money he could gather in such a short amount of time, anything and everything he could think of relating to money. For hours and hours on end he did math, he read, and he learned. It felt like he was cramming for exams as he did all of this.

Then he called Akaashi--numerous times. He asked Akaashi for advice on what airline he should take (they ended up booking tickets together and booking seats next to each other), he asked Akaashi about how much money he should bring with him, what should he pack, even what skates he should buy (Kuroo knew rental skates weren't going to available anymore). He wondered at times if he was being really annoying to Akaashi, asking all these questions, but he never seemed bothered by all the questions. He admitted, during one of their most recent calls, that Akaashi didn't mind because it reminded him of how anxious about every little thing when he was planning his first trip to Canada.

 

Kuroo couldn't believe this was fucking happening.

* * *

It was two weeks until they were going to leave.

Akaashi contacted his coach about their current plan, and by some stroke of luck, his coach had no problems with coaching the both of them, individually and as a pair. They said that they had competed themselves in partnered skating, but it would be their first time coaching it. And in order to get Kuroo better prepared for training, they started up their practice sessions again.  

They did several exercises together and for hours on end to build up endurance and strength. They worked more on Kuroo's jumps and within a week, Kuroo could land a double. It wasn't always perfect and he fell half the time, but there were times where he could land it and with some decent success. But when it came to stuff actually regarding partnered shit, Akaashi avoided it with all human power he had. One because he didn't really know what the hell he was doing, and the other because he'd combust into flames if Kuroo so much as 2 inches from his ass. So they just did individual stuff, which kept Kuroo preoccupied, busy, focused, and improving on what mattered. He was getting down the artistry of skating quicker than Akaashi thought, but he was still flawed in his execution of spins and the like. But he would be better prepared for Canada, and that's all that mattered.

Off the ice, Kuroo had a lot of his things packed. He was advised to really only bring the stuff that mattered, as they weren't going to permanently live in Canada. He did his best to shove as much crap as he could in as many suitcases as he could, and he proud to say he filled up two large suitcases and one small carry on with stuff. He thought all of his shit that he needed would take up at least 5 suitcases, so this was a nice surprise. Plus, he had never traveled out of country before; he thought he'd do it for volleyball when he got good enough to represent Japan for international competitions. 

Akaashi eventually came around and offered to give Kuroo a place to stay. Akaashi had confirmed an apartment that had two bedrooms (it was really one of the only apartments available in the area) and told Kuroo to not worry about rent for at least a month, seeing as he was a bit tight on funds. Everything was falling right into place and was going along quite smoothly for something they had to accomplish in one month. Akaashi's ability to plan things to a complete "t" was really amazing.

Soon enough, it was one week until they were going to board that plane and head off to Canada.

In one phone conversation he and Akaashi had, Akaashi mentioned that a lot of the sweets, drinks, and general food that Kuroo liked here in Japan? More than likely would be hard to find in Canada. There was no vending machines with cold drinks in residential neighborhoods like Japan. Roll cakes were never really in 7/11s. And good ramen places were either expensive, busy all the time, or just far as fuck away. Therefore, Kuroo was either going to have to start loving Canadian food and what they had to offer or stock up on all his Japanese food to keep him placated while in Canada.

It was a hard pill to swallow. What kind of country didn't have vending machines with at least 10 different kinds of drinks in it, that when dispensed, where fresh and cold?

When Kuroo told this information to Bokuto, he vowed to send the best Japanese snacks and foods he could to him and Akaashi so they would be ok. Kuroo wasn't sure if that'd be smart, seeing as some snacks like cakes and what not would perish while in transit across the world, but Bokuto sounded too excited to help his friends out to really be listening to Kuroo. It's the thought that counts, right?

When Kuroo first told Kenma that he was leaving volleyball, Kenma didn't look too pleased but said he would be fine. But when Kuroo later told Kenma he was going to Canada to be Akaashi's skating partner, Kuroo knew there was more emotion hidden underneath his wide eyes than he let on.First Kuroo leaves volleyball... and now the country? Kuroo could imagine him thinking. It really did suck to be leaving Kenma behind; he was one of the constant rocks in his life that always brought him back down to earth and always made him glad he had. Kenma was the same way with Kuroo, and he knew it. Kuroo knew Kenma's anxieties as if they were his own. Kenma wouldn't even need to ask if he wanted Kuroo to ask a question to a sales clerk or to order food for him at a restaurant or fast food chain. Kuroo knew when Kenma needed time for quiet and when it was ok for Kuroo to talk about dumb stuff. It was a comfortable rhythm the two maintained together, and it was one of the hardest things Kuroo realized he'd have to let go of, at least for a little while.

Kenma was capable of things on his own, of course. But Kuroo knew he was more at ease with him at his side, willing and able to do what was nerve wracking and stressful for him. He hoped Kenma wouldn't become a severe hermit without Kuroo. He wanted Kenma to at least walk around outside to get some sunlight on his skin at least.

So Kuroo spent as much time with Kenma as he could. Kenma didn't seem to mind. The two of them mostly lounged around at his apartment, sometimes playing games together, sometimes Kuroo watching him game or Kuroo even cooking for Kenma. This was perhaps the first time the two of them would be without each other. They weren't codependent on one another, not by a long shot--but they were better in each other's companies, better in a way no one else could make them.

 When it was one week till Kuroo and Akaashi left, the two of them were curled up on the couch. Kenma rested his head on Kuroo's shoulder in a rare display of physical closeness. They were watching some sort of anime about a cat girl. Kuroo had no idea what was going on, but didn't mind watching it with him.

"Just because you won't be able to physically bother me doesn't mean you should electronically bother me," Kenma suddenly spoke up, voice soft and barely louder than the TV.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Kuroo looked down at him.

Kenma peered up at him. "It means don't text me incessantly. You'll ruin my combos for Love Live."

Kuroo pouted and looked back to the TV. "You value combos more than me.... you think a fake, digital representation of useless success is more important than my flesh and blood and heart and mind... You wound me, Kenma." Kuroo tossed his head back for added drama.

Kenma rolled his eyes. "You can still text me. Just don't spam me with dumb shit."

"I'll resist my urge to send 50 cat photos, one by one, just for you then."

"As much as I appreciate the cat photos, never send that many at one time."

"I'll try and keep it in mind."

The afternoon dragged on like this, short bursts of conversation but mostly shared and comfortable silence as they watched the show together. It only ended once Kuroo gently told Kenma he had to head out to train with Akaashi, he nodded in understanding and scooted away from Kuroo to give him space to get off the couch. Kuroo said goodbye, Kenma echoing the same thing before heading out of the apartment and to the rink.

Being without Kenma was most certainly going to be the hardest thing.

Before too long it was 2 days until they were to head out.

Kuroo finished up all his packing, and kept double checking several times when he had time to do nothing but worry. He kept feeling like he didn't pack his laptop charger, or maybe he forgot his toothbrush, or maybe he just left all his underwear in its drawer for some reason. Every time he checked, he found that he did pack his charger, his toothbrush, and his underwear. But he couldn't help feeling worried. He and Akaashi were leaving in 2 days.

Two days..... Two fucking days until he was boarding a plane and sitting on it for longer than any bus ride he's ever been on. He hoped the seats wouldn't be cramped as fuck; he was decently tall and if his legs couldn't stretch, he'd be really uncomfortable. Akaashi had reassured him a few times that Akaashi booked seats and an airline that specifically had more spacious foot room because Akaashi hated being cramped, too. But Kuroo didn't know really what airplane spacious was so he often already got fidgety just thinking about being squished.

God, Kuroo was nervous. All of this was a bunch of firsts for Kuroo. The fact that he was doing this still hadn't entirely sunk in, even despite the numerous times he told friends and his parents about it. 

Kuroo was currently laying on his couch, his long limbs spread out willy nilly and he took up the entire space with his body. There was nothing else for him to really do in preparation for his trip. He packed, his plane tickets were already bought and done with, he had money, he told his friends and family, he trained with Akaashi, he even found a place in Canada where he could get his own pair of skates. All he could do now is sit and wait for the day to come where he'd ride the train that went to the nearest stop to the airport, take a taxi there and then meet up with Akaashi and be on his merry way. It was excruciating having fucking nothing to do as he waited. Curse him for doing things ahead of time. Now he had nothing to do.

He couldn't really even train with Akaashi. He was busy finalizing everything and doing whatever Akaashi does for these sorts of things. He had already visited Kenma today, but he was sick, and as much as Kuroo wanted to take care of him, he didn't want to catch a fever while on a long ass plane ride. The most he did for Kenma while he was there was make him one of his favorite soups and made sure he took some fever reducer medication so he wasn't feeling as shitty.

God, this was boring. He could hang out with Bokuto, but he had launched his phone somewhere and he was too lazy to get the fuck up and find it. Hopefully if someone were to message him he'd hear--

_Buzz buzz._

Kuroo immediately sat up at the faint buzzing noise. It was far enough away that the sound was faint, but close enough that he could hear it at all. 

_Buzz buzz._

Kuroo wasted no time jumping up onto his feet and went into a frenzy looking for his phone. So much for being too lazy to find his phone. He looked in the couch cushions, on the coffee table, under the coffee table, on the dining room table, his kitchen counters... until he found it sitting by the sink in the bathroom. He really wasn't sure how he managed to leave it there but he immediately snatched it from its perch on the counter and wasted no time turning the thing on and unlocking it.

There, he saw that he had received two texts from Akaashi. He collapsed back onto the sofa, happy to see that he had something to do to cure him from his boredom. No time was spent thinking and all time was dedicated to doing as he opened the messages like a man who was finally able to drink water after being thirsty for so long. 

 

**Akaashi**

I live near the airport we need to go to for our trip, so if you'd like, you can stay at my place until we head out.

It'd be easier to make sure you don't get lost and miss the flight somehow.

 

**Me**

oh HELL YEA

that sounds gr8

when do u want me to come on over?

 

**Akaashi**

Anytime that is best for you.

My mother prepared the guest room for you already.

 

**Me**

ive got literally nothing better 2 do then to come the fuck on over

send ur address and ill be there in like 5 seconds

 

**Akaashi**

I'll meet you at the train station, then.

Let me know when you get close to the station.

 

Akaashi then sent his address, and Kuroo was immediately in a scramble to get all his things together and ready to go. His carry on, thank God, wasn't another suitcase, so managing the two he did have was going to be a fair challenge but not impossible and ridiculous. Kuroo realized he didn't really have some sort of snack or food to bring as a gift for when he went over, so he made a mental note to do so very soon. And after changing out of something more appropriate for the weather and the general public, and after making sure for the 50th time he had everything, especially his house keys, phone, wallet and the like, he unplugged all appliances in his house, turned off all the lights, closed all the doors, and headed on out, making sure that he did, in fact lock the damn door.

He was glad the walk to the train station was just along a curving road that was a direct path with no turns and what not needed. The station was one that looked like it was for a small town; it was tiny, only a few taxi cabs were parked outside the entrance and exit of the station, and a couple of people came and went casually. Thus, Kuroo probably looked ridiculous toting around his two big ass suitcases and a backpack to this small town station. After looking at the provided map of lines and figuring out which one he needed to take and what stop to get off at, he scanned his train card and went through and downstairs to the platform and to wait. It was a struggle getting down those stairs, but volleyball did train him for something.

The train took about five minutes to arrive, and a few people got off and a few people got on, thus Kuroo was easily able to secure a seat without worrying about banging into other people with his luggage. He texted Akaashi and told him he would be there in no time at all, considering they really didn't live all too far away. Kuroo stared out the window at the landscapes that passed by quickly. The mountains in the distance were capped with snow but the town itself was barren of any. People out on walks with dogs or jogging were occasionally seen, but otherwise the landscape was quiet and serene and peaceful.

Kuroo listened with only half-focus whenever a voice announced what stop was next, knowing that it was his without really needing to think about it. He gathered his things all together and headed off the train once it lurched to a stop and the doors slid open. And up some stairs he went, glad that he wouldn't need to do this several times. And once he was at the top and at the exit of the train station, he saw Akaashi waiting for him already, wearing a long winter coat and a plaid patterned scarf. 

"Akaashi!" He called out, and Akaashi looked at him with a surprised look, perhaps because of his luggage. 

"You carried that up the stairs?" Kuroo nodded. "By yourself?" Kuroo nodded again.

"I don't have a personal servant to do it for me. No need for one when you have these guns," Kuroo then flexed one of his biceps, but it didn't really show anything since he was wearing a jacket. 

Akaashi rolled his eyes. "I live very close to the station, just straight down and to the right." Akaashi pointed in the general direction, and then the two headed off.

Akaashi insisted he take one of the suitcases from Kuroo, who agreed with a pout. And just like Akaashi had stated his house was down the street, not even a 5 minute walk before they were at his front door. Akaashi unlocked the door for Kuroo and let him enter first. Slipping off his shoes, he helped Akaashi bring the suitcases up to the hard wood floor of the house. At the commotion, Akaashi's mother came to the doorway, a smile on her face.

"You must be Kuroo! It's nice to meet you," She was still wearing her cooking apron, meaning she was still cooking. After closing the door behind himself and slipping off his shoes, Akaashi could smell the food. 

"It's nice to meet you too. Thank you for letting me stay here," Kuroo smiled warmly back.

"Oh, it's not a problem! I'm cooking lunch right now, so after you get everything settled come and eat, ok?" Akaashi nodded and his mother then went back into the kitchen. 

After putting the suitcases in a side closet near the stairs where Akaashi's suitcases were as well, Akaashi led Kuroo upstairs to where the guest room was.

"It's right across the way from mine. At the end of the hall there's a bathroom with a bath." Akaashi pointed, and Kuroo nodded. "Feel free to get settled in. I'm going to head downstairs, so come down when you're ready."

Kuroo then entered the guest room and set his bag down. There was a small TV in the corner and on the other side of the room, blankets and pillows were stacked and folded, ready to be used for when he was ready to go to bed that night. And after checking his backpack for all his necessities, he left the room and headed downstairs, where he found Akaashi and his mother sitting at the kotatsu already, food on the table, steaming and smelling delicious.

The three of them ate while watching TV that was playing the news, occasionally engaging in conversation about their trip to Canada and talking about Akaashi's previous trip down there. Akaashi barely knew English the first time he went, and thus struggled to figure out what things meant and what the hell he had to do. He ended up just recognizing words because he saw them on his plane ticket or by just hoping the little drawings and figures next to words meant what he thought they meant. He refrained from talking to airport staff and buying things at the airport because he only knew how to say "hello", "thank you" and "Canada". But after he settled in to his apartment, he studied hard at English, and was fortunate to meet people who also spoke Japanese who could help him learn English. His fluency now was very good, but he still struggled with pronunciation, but he could hold simple conversations with interviewers or other skaters.

After all the food was eaten, the three of them helped clean up the dishes and stayed in a casual conversation. Akaashi's mother was fascinated to learn about Kuroo's volleyball past and his talent at the sport, even being amazed at his muscles when he showed them off (Akaashi wasn't that impressed, but he did sneak a few glances). He told her all about how he started when he was young, the trips he made for the sport, the friends he made along the way and the joy it brought him. It was surprising for her to hear that he went from volleyball, the one thing he loved all his life to skating, something he was now picking up and taking more seriously. Kuroo simply told her it was a want to do something new; he could always go back to volleyball.

Kuroo volunteered to help Akaashi's mother cook as she excused herself to start preparing for it, which surprised her. He told her he loved cooking, and he did tell Akaashi he'd prove that he was able to cook. So the two of them got to work in the kitchen while Akaashi lazed around the house, eventually spending time outside with the small garden he and his mother was growing. He watered all of the plants and was happy with how they were doing in the winter cold. He was happy it didn't snow constantly where he lived, but it still got quite chilly.

When they had dinner together, the same synergy of conversation happened again. Akaashi and his mother sharing stories of skating and of childhood, and Kuroo sharing his own stories, too. Akaashi was also pleased to find that Kuroo was actually a pretty good cook. Though, he regretted it a little telling Kuroo, because he loudly whooped and smirked the entire night.

After dinner, they cleaned up once more and retired upstairs. His mother slept and had her room downstairs, so there she stayed after Kuroo and Akaashi said their good nights and went upstairs. Kuroo was allowed to use the bathroom first, and as he sat in the tub, he leaned back, his body a bit squished (Kuroo preferred showers for this reason) he thought about how good things were going. So far, everything was going according to plan. Kuroo improved a lot and as much as he could at skating, everything they needed to get done was done... all that was left was to go to Canada and everything would then come together. Kuroo still felt nervous, yes--but it was an excited nervous now.

And after Kuroo dried himself off, changed into pajamas and let Akaashi know the bathroom was all his now, he went into his room and laid down the blankets and pillows. He settled down into them, sighing softly and contentedly before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, the three of them ate breakfast again together. Kuroo asked Akaashi if there was some sort of shopping district nearby, and Akaashi said there was. And after finishing his breakfast and writing down the information Akaashi gave him, he headed out to go buy something to thank Akaashi and his mother for their hospitality. 

He was glad to do something that ate time. There was one day before they were going to head out. And thus, Kuroo took his damn sweet time looking around at the various small shops. They were all close to the train station and thus a very short distance from Akaashi's house. He looked in small dollar stores, places with sweets, places with random knick knacks, really anywhere and everywhere. The stores were similar to the ones near Kuroo's place, but subtle differences here and there were present.

Eventually, Kuroo settled on roll cakes of different flavors that were small and cute to gift to them. And after paying, he headed back to Akaashi's house.

He planned to gift the cakes before he and Akaashi were to head out to the airport tomorrow morning. He kept the bag with the cakes safe and sound behind his backpack, hidden away from sight. 

Much like the day before, they had dinner together. Lunch was done individually, seeing as Kuroo was out and about and Akaashi's mother was visiting a neighbor for the day. A cat Kuroo hadn't seen the entire time he was here was curled up at Akaashi's side, purring. It was a black cat, it's fur sleek and smooth and with wide green eyes that had a curious gleam in them.

When Kuroo asked about the cat, Akaashi told him he had gotten the cat recently as a gift to his mother for her support and so she would have a companion while he was away. Kuroo found it absolutely endearing that Akaashi did something like that.

And it was the day they were to leave.

And then they were loading the car with their luggage.

And then Kuroo gave his simple present of the milk roll cakes. 

And then they were in the car, driving to the airport.

And then they were rolling their suitcases into the large airport.

And then they had breakfast together as they waited for check in to start. 

And then their bags were checked in and taken, and then they had to go through security.

And then they waved goodbye to Akaashi's mother, who was smiling sadly but smiling none the less, and Kuroo didn't stop waving goodbye until he couldn't see her any more.

And then they were waiting for check in to board the plane, roaming around the airport, roaming around at the small stores and such with books, drinks, snacks and such available for purchase.

And then they could check in and board, and with Akaashi in the lead because Kuroo didn't know what the fuck the numbers on his ticket meant, they found their seats and sat down (Kuroo got the aisle seat but could see the window just fine).

And then the plane slowly began to crawl forward, and with eyes glued to the window, he watched as the plane slowly got faster and faster and then it was up in the air, the sensation feeling like... something he really couldn't describe, and Akaashi had a small, gentle smile on his face as he watched Kuroo stare out the window in childlike wonder.

And then they were on the plane for roughly 10 hours, and for that 10 hours Akaashi was quietly dozing for most of it and Kuroo was playing games on his DS or watching movies on those little screens they have on the backs of the seat, and Kuroo found that the in flight food wasn't as terrible as people online made it seem to be (it wasn't gourmet either, though).

And then Kuroo felt that indescribable feeling again as they made their landing down in Canada, it was late afternoon as they touched down on foreign soil Kuroo had never thought he'd touch before in his life and when he looked at Akaashi he was smiling brightly, clearly excited to be here, and Kuroo was itching to get off this damn plane already.

And then they got off the plane and got their bags from the baggage claim, Akaashi leading the way once more because he spoke English and knew more of what was going on than he did, and then they were on taxi that was driving them to their apartment and the landscapes was something so beautifully foreign and covered in snow and damn was Kuroo cold as shit right now. 

And as they got their luggage from the back of the taxi and got the keys to the apartment from the landlord and found their apartment, Kuroo was now able to whoop with glee the second he stepped inside because now he was here and he was here to stayand he was here to stay with Akaashi.

And as they explored the apartment together, Kuroo was bouncing around like a little child, shocked at the simplistic toilet with no toilet seat heating and bidet and little song that would play if you pressed a button, amazed at how spacious the apartment was compared to his, happy that it was furnished a little already, joyful that there was a kitchen... 

And Akaashi watched him as he jumped and bounced around like a plastic bouncy ball little kids played with, he smiled and even laughed at how ridiculously joyful he was.

And eventually Kuroo calmed the fuck down and he went back to Akaashi who was putting the water bottles and snacks he got from the airport into the fridge, and smiled widely.

"The plane ticket was expensive as fuck, the waits were painfully long and the toilet here kinda sucks, but y'know what, Akaashi? This entire trip with you is..."

Akaashi closed the fridge door and looked at Kuroo. He was grinning.

"Priceless."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was my favorite chapter to write because it draws a lot from my experiences traveling to japan to visit my family. i was so balls deep in memories that i imagined akaashi's house is the same layout as my grandmother's house; in fact, i even got milk roll cakes for her too! akaashi's lil garden is inspired by my grandmother too :P 
> 
> anyways -- i hope you enjoyed this chapter!! the boys.... are getting closer to romance..............


	8. Feed me now

Akaashi was happy.  

He and Kuroo arrived safely in Canada with no problems. The snow outside when they arrived was really their only issue; dragging suitcases through it wasn't fun, but their apartment wasn't far from the office of the owner of the apartments. And while the apartment itself was pretty bare, only really having a bed for each room and a couch for the living room attached to the kitchen, it was still comfortable. Akaashi and Kuroo unpacked with no problems, and easily settled in. They made plans to maybe get some more furniture, maybe a desk or two and a coffee table, but they were able to make do for now. All of their meals were eaten standing up at the kitchen counter and when they were in the living room together, they just watched the tv in mutual confusion because Canadian tv shows didn't make sense and their accents were a bit difficult for Akaashi to follow.

But they were comfortable.

And Akaashi was really happy.

When they first went out to "explore Canada" as Kuroo described it, Kuroo was not really prepared for the cold. In their town in Japan, it rarely snowed and especially not for days on end. Akaashi guessed he forgot to tell Kuroo that snow means colder and that means you need to dress warmer. Akaashi burned through half of his supply of hand warmers within the first week of being there. And also in that week, the two of them vowed to never try and walk outside again, especially not during winter, and figured out how to use Amazon to buy Kuroo some new coats.

They rarely left the apartment after that, but then a friend of Akaashi's, a native to Canada and a fellow skater, told them about Uber. Uber was not a thing in Japan, as driving wasn't the most common way to travel unless it was much shorter distances. Trains and buses were more common place, so the concept of paying someone to drive you places, like a taxi, was extremely peculiar.

"You have taxis in Canada, though." Akaashi had told his Canadian friend.

"This is like taxis, but the taxis will come to you instead of you finding them." His friend explained.

And when Akaashi explained this concept to Kuroo, he was confused too. He kept asking why the hell they just couldn't use a taxi, and then Akaashi's friend would explain that it's cheaper, it's easier, you can use it where ever and whenever... But Akaashi and Kuroo remained suspicious.

Until that friend ordered an Uber for them to take them to a shopping center nearby that was pretty far of a walk but a decent driving distance.

And now Akaashi and Kuroo were constantly using Uber to get around, walking be damned.

After their whole escapade with Uber and settling in in general, Akaashi's coach called about a week and a half after their arrival, asking how they've been doing and how they like Canada so far. Akaashi became the translator for Kurro and his coach as his coach asked if Kuroo could join the call too, so they could discuss the plans for training. It was interesting, talking to his coach in English for a bit, and then having to talk to Kuroo in Japanese, have Kuroo reply, then Akaashi would translate his reply back into English. He was a bit rusty with his English, but this was good practice. And through this, the three of them settled on training twice a week, once individually with the coach and once together for their partnered work. Their first training session would be Friday of the week of their call, and it'd be with both of them.

After that call concluded, Kuroo sounded extremely excited to finally be training and to finally get to use the new skates he had recently bought. He had broken them in by going to an outdoor skating rink with Akaashi, though he did less skating and more posing with his new skates, which was ridiculous and very embarrassing. Akaashi was feeling excited too, but… apprehensive. It's been a while since he switched coaches, and he hoped there wouldn't be any clashing opinions or anything like that. He hoped things would go as smooth as they could, especially with Kuroo now something to worry about and the partnered skate thing being uncharted territory for just about everyone.

Akaashi laid back against the couch and sighed as Kuroo bounced around the apartment, gleefully kissing his new skates as he hummed some improvised song about how he'll "look so hot on the ice it'll melt". And as Akaashi watched him, absorbed in his own excitement and own little world, Akaashi quelled his fears and simply hoped for the best.

 

* * *

 

Kuroo was excited about another thing for their first training session: using Uber again.

Kuroo was fucking obsessed with it. Any time he and Akaashi needed to go somewhere, he was already pulling out his phone and getting an Uber on their way. It was really bad how much they were using it. Akaashi had to snatch Kuroo's phone from his hand several times and scold him about budgeting to stop him from going bankrupt over a fucking ride share app.

So far, Kuroo was Uber free for 2 days. This would be first time in 2 days using the service again. Akaashi felt like he was helping a drug addict end their addiction. 

Once they found their Uber and entered their car, they were off. Small conversation was held, but Akaashi and Kuroo stayed mostly silent (it was always weird for Akaashi to always have conversations with just about everyone in Canada, not that he had a problem with it though). They stared out the windows of the car at the snow dusted streets and sidewalks and at people bundled up with scarves and coats. At one point they passed by someone walking a dog, a big Husky, and Kuroo was so amazed by its size he couldn't help but smile brightly. Sadly, he didn't get a picture of the dog for Bokuto.

Soon enough they were at the rink. And after both of them thanking their driver ("thank you" was all Kuroo could say with confidence for now) they entered inside, immediately settling in and shedding off their coats and scarves. As Akaashi unwound his scarf, he looked around for their coach. He was sent a photo of what he looked like a couple weeks ago, so he had a vague idea of his appearance. And soon enough he saw him; he was actually on the ice itself, though he was talking to someone on the other side of the rink wall. He was far away, across the ice on the opposite side of the rink, and thus out of ear shot. Akaashi tore his eyes away to sit down and behind putting his skates on, Kuroo already doing so beside him. 

"Is our coach here already?" Kuroo asked, eyes briefly looking to Akaashi.

"Yeah. He's out on the ice talking to someone. I don't know who," Akaashi replied, slipping off his shoes and loosening up the laces on his skates to slip his feet in.

"What was his name again? Ukai?" Kuroo asked, firmly tightening his laces. "He's Japanese, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is. But he was born and raised in Canada and doesn't speak Japanese. It'd be nice if he did,"

"Hey, wait, isn't he the son of the other Ukai? The one famed to be the coach of a famous partner skating duo? The one with the 'little giant' or something like that?" Kuroo asked, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"I think so. I've asked my friends about him, and they say that to be true. But I care more that he has experience himself," Akaashi finished tying up his skates, and then he was up on his feet. Kuroo was already up and waiting for Akaashi. 

Kuroo held out his hand for Akaashi, presumedly to take. Akaashi looked at his hand, and then up at Kuroo, nonplussed.

"What, I can't escort my partner to the ice?" Kuroo practically purred. Akaashi could feel his cheeks light up, but he hoped they were already red from the cold.

Akaashi swatted his hand away. "You can't cut out your flirting for two seconds?" 

"It's an instinct, something I need to do when around someone so beautiful."

"Just get on the ice," Akaashi huffed.

Kuroo did so without being told again, making his way to the entrance to the rink and stepping onto the ice with practiced ease. Akaashi followed suit after him, and it seemed like their arrival got the attention of their coach, Ukai, who cut the conversation with the mystery person short and skated over to them.

"You two must be Akaashi and Kuroo, yeah?" He asked, and Akaashi nodded.

He clapped his hands and grinned, then rubbing his hands together, clearly excited. "Cool! So, let's get started."

The three of them skated to the middle of the ice, and there, the practice session started. It was really more of a "assessing where everyone was at" though, seeing as it was everyone's first time working with one another. Ukai had them doing simple things, such as particular foot work, a spin, a jump. When it came to jumps, Kuroo was clearly lacking but he did land every double he attempted that day. Akaashi made sure to translate Ukai's praise and comments to Kuroo every chance he got. And after they were individually assessed for their own skills, Ukai told them that they would most certainly be able to work together as a pair. The only main thing they really needed to worry about was trusting one another and using that trust to work up to doing throws. And as Akaashi expected, Ukai wanted Kuroo to be the thrower, and Akaashi the one being thrown. When Akaashi told all of this to Kuroo, he grinned. Of fucking course he did.

For the second half of their time with Ukai, he had the two of them do a simple step sequence and finish it off with a double to see how synchronized the two of them could be. After showing them the steps a few times, he then had them perform it to them. Akaashi recalled that time the two of them did this for one of their lessons back in Japan and how he crashed into Kuroo by doing a jump. He held back the urge to cringe at himself and pushed back the bad part of those memories.

They started off well. Akaashi was hyperaware of Kuroo's presence this time around extremely cautious of getting too close and thus maintained a large distance between himself and Kuroo. Though, because he was distracted with trying to not accidentally kill Kuroo, he did mess up the steps once or twice. But once they got to the jump, Akaashi forced away his fears and jumped without hesitation, easily landing the double. By the sound of the clap of skates on ice after he landed and not the telltale sound of someone crashing onto the ice, he could tell that Kuroo landed another double. Seems like he got over his problem with the jumps. That thought made Akaashi smile as he slowed down his skating and stopped when he reached Ukai, Kuroo right next to him and following him. 

Ukai told them he could see clear promise with their shared skills, but obviously there was not a strong sense a trust between them. Ukai could see Akaashi’s hesitation to get too close to Kuroo, but they did have a good sense of each other and synced up pretty well, mirroring each other very smoothly. 

 They didn’t really do much after that. Ukai gave them a few tips on what they should do for their own personal practice, the main point being to just skate together to have the awareness that the other is there become not as obvious and just a given. Akaashi translated all of this back to Kuroo, and he nodded in understanding. And before they could say thank you and head out, Ukai gave one last idea for practice:

Take a dance class together. 

When Akaashi translated this to Kuroo, he instantly grinned and nodded. “Yes!” He said in English, and Ukai smiled brightly back, giving a thumbs up. Ukai then explained that it was to again, build trust, but also to get Kuroo used to lifting Akaashi before they brought that to the ice. When they were finally dismissed and they thanked Ukai for his time, Kuroo was bubbling in excitement. 

“I’m your skating and dance partner~ Yeah yeah~” He said in a singsong voice. Akaashi couldn’t lie, he was excited himself to partake in dance classes once more. The last time he did it was with Bokuto and a long time ago. He couldn’t really help the small smile on his face as he untied his skates and slipped them off, Kuroo still singing his little song. And he kept singing that little song even as they called for another Uber and rode all the way home to their apartment. 

Once they had arrived back, Kuroo finally stopped, his excitement fizzling away but he was still in a good mood. He opened the apartment door with a little hip wiggle and Akaashi had to stifle a laugh at that. As he slipped off his shoes and closed and locked the door behind him, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Walking over to the couch in the living room, he flopped down onto it and took out his phone, finding a text from Ukai. It was a link to a dance studio one of Ukai’s friends owned that many other skaters often went to. 

He remembered back to his days dancing with Bokuto. He was always so hyper and excited to learn new techniques and styles, his particular favorite being partnered dancing. He loved sharing his energy with someone else, using it for flashier dances with spice and excitement and an upbeat energy. He loved dipping his partner low or lifting them high, sweeping them off their feet and twirling them this way and that. The few times he did do a dance with Bokuto was perhaps some of the most fun he had in a while; Bokuto’s energy was quite infectious at times. From Bokuto he learned to harness his own energy to figure skating, using it for his more emotion driven programs meant to evoke a response from his audience. 

He then tried to imagine what Kuroo would be like as a dancer. He seemed like he’d be worried about getting it right at base level before finding techniques and styles he liked and making it his own. He’d definitely be more sensual, slow moving with short bursts of movement to up the tension, leaving you wanting more and more from him—

Uh, ok Akaashi, chill the fuck out before that gets weirdly sexual, if it hadn’t already. 

Akaashi snapped back to reality. Whether his musings were stemming from his own personal feelings or something was something Akaashi didn’t want to dwell on. He looked back at the webpage for the dance studio on his phone screen. There was no need for the slight attraction Akaashi felt for Kuroo to mingle with fond memories. They had a business relationship, a partnership like teammates on a sports team. No reason to make it weirdly sexual or romantic when their relationship just wasn’t really like that.

Sure, Kuroo’s flirting said otherwise, but Akaashi was sure that Kuroo just said those things because he was just like that, probably. Maybe he did that with Bokuto, too. He doubted he did it with Kenma, as that’d be a little too weird to do with a childhood friend you cherish, but his point still remains. Kuroo’s flirting was exclusive to him and there was no way Kuroo had an attraction to Akaashi legitimately and Akaashi didn’t have one for Kuroo.

Yup, Akaashi doesn’t like Kuroo. He only likes him as a friend and as a teammate. 

 

* * *

 

Today was the day he and Kuroo started their dance lessons. Their dance instructor was the owner of the studio and the friend of Ukai, Saeko. She was a bright and confident woman, reminding Akaashi a little of Bokuto in terms of how energetic she was. Unlike Ukai, she did speak Japanese; she was actually born and raised in Japan, but decided to move to Canada to further her dance career. It was nice for Akaashi to not have to translate for Kuroo for yet another thing. He hoped Kuroo would hurry up and learn English already so his life would be so much easier. 

Regardless, their time with Saeko wasn’t terrible. She warmed them up with stretches and the like, stuff that reminded him of yoga. And after that, Saeko wasted no time in getting them to do a partnered dance right away. After all, there wasn’t a point in the individual stuff when the point of them being here was to get used to being close and partnered in the first place. She wanted them to do something slow for now, so they were to do a waltz. 

Both Kuroo and Akaashi hadn’t done it before, so before actually getting into position with each other, Saeko showed the correct holds for Kuroo by pretending to be Kuroo’s partner, and doing the same with Akaashi before having the two of them show what they learned. Akaashi could feel his heart thumping in his chest when Kuroo put a hand on his waist. It felt like it began thumping even more when they had to hold their hands together, Akaashi keeping his face neutral to try and ignore the flutter of his heart.

Saeko then showed them a simple waltz—a box step—and then started up the music. Kuroo kept looking down at his feet then up at Akaashi, trying hard to listen to Saeko when she kept saying to stop looking at his feet, but shit this box stuff was a little tricky. Akaashi did his best to follow Kuroo, but the box step was easy for him and he ended up stepping on Kuroo’s feet a few times. Saeko kept a steady tempo for them, counting out numbers for them to follow and step accordingly. This seemed to help Kuroo, as eventually he did get it down and stopped looking at his feet. He grinned at Akaashi when he finally got it down, and Akaashi couldn’t help but smile back. 

Saeko then asked for them to implement a turn into each step, so they would appear to be moving in circles. Kuroo seemed a little confused about this, so Akaashi decided to take the lead. 

“Just follow me,” He mumbled to Kuroo, who nodded. 

Akaashi did just as Saeko asked, doing the turns and Kuroo easily followed his lead. The waltz melody that came from the speaker was soft and simple. Kuroo’s hand clasping onto Akaashi’s was firm and gentle, warm and weighty. And as they waltzed, it almost felt like they were waltzing forever and ever. Akaashi’s  fluttering heart was not at the forefront of his mind anymore, only Kuroo’s hand in his own, Kuroo’s hand on his hip, the music wafting through the air and the mint-sage smell of Kuroo in front of him. Saeko had stopped counting after a while, but Akaashi barely noticed. And eventually Akaashi didn’t even lead anymore, the two of them finding rhythm together and simply knowing where to go without having to follow or be followed. 

Akaashi didn’t know how long things had lasted until Saeko stopped the music and Akaashi snapped out of it almost instantly, Kuroo doing the same. 

“I’m impressed!” Saeko said, and the two of them looked to her. “You guys fell into a rhythm with each other pretty quickly. Seems like you’re pretty comfortable with one another already,” 

Kuroo then looked at Akaashi. “He’s just easy to follow.” He said with a shrug. Akaashi met his eyes for a moment and felt his cheeks burn before tearing his eyes away. 

“Well, I think that should conclude our time today,” Saeko said as she began packing up all of her things. “Keep practicing that waltz because next time we’ll add in some more stuff. We might even work on lifts, too.” 

At the mention of lifts, Kuroo beamed. Akaashi was a bit apprehensive about it, but at least it wasn’t on the ice. But he trusted Kuroo and he trusted Saeko, so he hoped that it would go smoothly next time around. 

Then the two of them gathered their own things, thanking and saying goodbye to Saeko before heading out of the studio. 

So far, so good. Ukai was a good coach and Saeko was a good instructor. And despite them only having done the first step into their careers together, it already felt like mountains of progress was made. Kuroo was improving almost exponentially and continued to have the drive to continue to do better and better each and every time. He also had to admit that having company with him, someone always at his side as he trained and lived in Canada was much nicer than when he was alone. He himself felt more driven, more optimistic and looked more forward to practice sessions and training than he did before. It was a necessity before; and now it felt like something he wanted to do, too. 

Akaashi didn’t hate skating before, but at some points it was hard to keep himself constantly working and constantly training. Like Kuroo, he had already learned everything, so it was merely a challenge of do it better and perfect it. But now he had Kuroo to work with and a new type of skating to learn; he had to learn how to work with someone else on the ice, to learn to do lifts, to learn the ins and outs of a new genre of skating. It was an invigorating change. Akaashi felt inspired again. 

And that felt nice. 

 

* * *

 

The two of them had a couple of days before Akaashi had his lesson alone with Ukai. Today, Kuroo had his; he came back looking a bit tired, and when asked why, he said it was because they were drilling jumps and exercises related to it. The physical toll of jumps was something Akaashi was no stranger to. The importance of them in single skating meant a lot of time was spent perfecting them and not a lot much else unless you had to practice your programs for an upcoming competition. Eventually, they almost become second nature, but their physical toll never lessened. If anything, you build a stamina to it and grow able to do more for the duration of a program. However, despite Kuroo’s exhaustion, he came back with good news: he could do triples… sometimes. He failed more often than not, but he did land one.  

Kuroo and Akaashi spent their time together just lazing on the couch after Kuroo returned. Kuroo was slowly learning more English, some of it being Akaashi teaching him helpful phrases to parroting what people on tv said (there was one instance where Kuroo said “fucking bitch!” to Akaashi and almost gave him a heart attack). When they watched tv together, like they were now, Kuroo would sometimes ask what certain words meant or what the hell was happening in a show they were watching, and Akaashi would explain and try and teach him at least one new English word. 

It was a slow process, especially since English was damn hard. But Kuroo was trying and doing his best despite his troubles trying to pronounce words. Akaashi wondered if Kuroo would learn jumps faster or English. 

After Akaashi explained what “truffle” was (they were watching a cooking show), Kuroo then asked another question. 

“Do you want to practice dancing?” He looked at Akaashi. 

Akaashi’s eyebrows raised, not expecting that question. He looked over at Kuroo, meeting his gaze.“Dancing? I thought you were "too tired to do anything.”

“Well now I’m all rested and plus that waltz stuff we learned is super chill! C’mon, it’ll be fun.” 

“Fine. But if I step on your foot, it’s on purpose. I really wanted to watch this,” 

“I’ll pay you back, don’t you worry.” Kuroo grinned. 

The two of them then got up and off the couch and it was then they realized that they didn’t exactly have the same amount of space as the dance studio. “We don’t have space, Kuroo. You didn’t realize that, huh?” 

Kuroo bit his lip as he looked around, clearly thinking. His eyes widened when he realized something. “The balcony!” 

“The balcony?” Akaashi repeated. 

“Yeah, the balcony. We don’t have anything out there and it’s not that small, so we could dance there!” And before Akaashi could protest, Kuroo grabbed Akaashi’s hand and practically dragged him to the balcony that was attached to Kuroo’s room towards the back of their apartment. The weather outside was still cold but it was warming up a little as winter was slowly dragging into spring. 

“I don’t know why I let you do half the things I do,” Akaashi said with a soft sigh. 

“Because you like me~” Kuroo purred, smiling. “Now come on, grab my hand.” 

And with that, they settled into each other, Kuroo’s hand on Akaashi’s waist, Akaashi’s hand on Kuroo’s shoulder, their other hands clasped together, the scent of mint-sage becoming really strong. Akaashi briefly wondered if he smelled nice, or what he even smelled like to begin with. 

“Wait, Kuroo. We don’t have music.” Akaashi said before Kuroo moved his foot. 

“How about we pretend there’s music and we just talk.” Kuroo suggested before he took the lead with confidence, easing into the box step, Akaashi having no problem following along. 

“What do you want to talk about, then?” Akaashi asked, eyes trained on Kuroo. He shrugged his shoulders, and Akaashi felt the movement under his fingers. Kuroo was seeping with warmth; it spilled into his fingertips from Kuroo’s shoulder and hand. 

“Hm… Why don’t you tell me about your other hobbies? There’s gotta be stuff you do besides skating.” Small puffs of air left Kuroo’s mouth as he spoke. 

“You know about volleyball already, but I also enjoy gardening. Back home, I have peppers and tomatoes and such growing. My mother taught me all I know.” 

“Oh? You look more like the succulent type. Gardening does seem to suit you, though.” 

“What about you?” Akaashi asked, and Kuroo’s eyebrows raised.  

“What about me?” He asked back, looking down at Akaashi curiously. 

“Your hobbies, what you like to do that isn’t skating and volleyball.” 

Kuroo didn’t reply right away. The hand holding Akaashi’s mindlessly squeezed and Kuroo was in thought. He looked out over the balcony as he thought. Akaashi held back the urge to squeeze Kuroo’s hand back. What was he, a 12 year old school girl?  

“Music, I guess. In the spare time I had in middle school and high school I played guitar. But closer I got to graduating high school and moving onto college, the less time I had or I had to focus on volleyball and studying, so I haven’t picked it up in a long time.” Kuroo’s fingers on Akaashi’s hip tapped lightly against it. 

Akaashi smiled and looked at him, unsurprised. “You seem like the type to sing sappy love songs up to your girlfriend’s bedroom window.” 

“Is that supposed to be a good thing?” Kuroo asked, a hopeful look on his face. 

“That is not an invitation to sing to me as you stand in my backyard and I look down at you from my bedroom window.” 

Kuroo pouted, letting out a whine. “Is there any way to woo you?” 

Akaashi shrugged his shoulders. “What’s the fun in telling you? Isn’t it more worth it for you to figure it out yourself?” 

“Everything I’ve done so far get really no where! The closes I got were to get you to make puns with me,” 

“I was so worn down from your bullshit that I saw no better alternative to survive. But if you think that time would bump, set and spike you into my heart, I’m not going to say it’s wrong.” 

Kuroo’s face brightened immediately. “So the way to your heart is puns, right?” 

“Could be. It also might not be,” Akaashi shrugged his shoulders again. “Again, there’s no fun in telling you.” 

It was then that Akaashi realized he might be implying that Kuroo should continue with his flirting and general romantic antics. Maybe if Akaashi wasn’t… attracted, to some degree, to Kuroo, he’d see this as a bad thing. When they first met, Akaashi did find it annoying. But Akaashi did maybe like Kuroo just a little bit, at least maybe the attention. So the attention wasn’t bad. But there was no way Kuroo was really serious about these antics, right? Again, that’s just what he’s like. So maybe it was okay to like this attention and it was okay to let Kuroo keep doing it because it was Kuroo being Kuroo and Akaashi didn’t really want to date him or anything. No, he just liked attention. Kuroo’s attention. Yeah.  

They continued waltzing about on their balcony, the cold making their cheeks a bright pink, the lack of music letting the conversation to continue to flow between them. Akaashi told Kuroo of his first attempts at gardening at school, how they all didn’t even grow because it was much too cold outside. And when Akaashi came home after weeks of diligently watering his nonexistent plants with tears down his cheeks as his teacher told him it was a lost cause, his mother sat him down and told him that he simply planted the wrong plants that weren’t suited for the winter. And together they planted their first plants: peas. And with the guidance of his mother, the plants grew tall and fruitful, and Akaashi had been growing fruits and vegetables really ever since. 

And in return, Kuroo told Akaashi about how he sometimes wished he could’ve just been a musician. He would’ve been able to have more time with his non-volleyball friends and even could’ve dated while in school, as volleyball ate up a lot of his time after school, and anytime that wasn’t for volleyball he spent doing his school work. He couldn’t do volleyball with bad grades, his parents told him. So he had to balance his sport and school and had so little time to socialize and be a teen. Plus, he added afterwards, if he was a musician, he could’ve played the music that Akaashi skated to. But he was happy that his life lead here, where he was with Akaashi in Canada doing something so out of what he thought he was going to do in the future. 

Akaashi almost said he was glad he was with Kuroo, too, but kept quiet. While it was the truth, he didn’t want to tell Kuroo that he possibly liked him. There was no way Kuroo liked him back, and he didn’t want to spoil the nice time the two of them were having together with awkwardness. 

Soon, though, the temperature began to drop as the sun began to dip down below the horizon, and when Kuroo noticed that Akaashi was starting to shiver, they retired inside to finish the cooking shows that Akaashi wanted to watch. And to pay back for pulling Akaashi away from his precious show, he made him some of the best hot cocoa he had ever had in his life, complete with a nice dollop of whipped cream and was so creamy that he could only wonder what witchcraft Kuroo performed to get it so perfect. 

With their mugs of hot cocoa in hand and the cooking show playing softly, the two of them curled up on the couch. They sat side by side, Kuroo asking occasionally about what the chefs were cooking, and Akaashi gladly told him. At some point, Akaashi started to lean against Kuroo and his eyes felt heavier and heavier the more time passed. And eventually, he began drifting off to sleep, leaning against Kuroo’s side and taking in his warmth. 

Akaashi was happy with the way things were going. Things were going smoothly.  

And things were going really well. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the chapter where kuroo and akaashi just learn that uber is a thing


	9. Daydream / wetdream / nightmare

Kuroo felt like he was drowning. 

His hand rested on Akaashi’s hip, as it always did when they were dancing together. He could feel the warmth of his skin radiating on his palm, could feel the way his hips would shift just slightly as he took a step or turned. He always wondered if Akaashi’s skin was smooth and soft, if it smelled like the same lavender he smelled quite often now. If it was sensitive under light touches or preferred a roughness. The hand Kuroo held was… soft, not a single callous could be felt on his fingers or palm. He always hoped his own hands didn’t feel like sandpaper against Akaashi’s hand; he had callouses from playing guitar and from playing volleyball. He was conscious to make sure that he never roughly squeezed Akaashi’s hand or grabbed his hip too strongly. He kept his grip light but present. 

For all the times they danced together (it had been quite a few since the first time on the balcony), they just about never used music to guide them. They fell into their own simple rhythm with each other, usually talking to fill up the silence. They often did a waltz but as time passed and they did more dance lessons with Saeko, they did more complex dances. If Akaashi was in a good mood, they’d do a tango. They’d be much closer together in position and there Kuroo could really smell that sweet lavender of Akaaashi’s shampoo or cologne or whatever the hell it was that made him smell so soothing, and there he could sometimes feel Akaashi’s warm breath fan out on his neck. Kuroo would be a liar if he said he hated doing the tango with him. 

It was moments like these where Kuroo longed for maybe a little bit more. To hold Akaashi’s hand without needing the excuse of ‘oh its dance practice; to have Akaashi close, so close the smell of lavender is intoxicating and the warmth that radiates from Akaashi almost like a spark that lights him on fire; to feel Akaashi’s breath fan out across his lips before they kiss. If Kuroo was going to be honest, he probably was and has been in love with Akaashi. And the more time the two of them spent together, the more he learned about Akaashi outside of what he did on the ice, his habits, his interests, his likes, his dislikes, the way he gets quiet when he’s really focused on something, the way he never hesitates to help Kuroo learn something new, the way he was so casually elegant whenever he did literally anything ever… the more Kuroo felt like he was falling in fucking love with Akaashi Keiji.

Kuroo felt like he was fucking drowning, dude. 

Kuroo felt like he was being obvious, too, about his attraction and clear liking for Akaashi. He literally flirted at least once in every conversation they ever had. He made a conscious effort to get to know Akaashi more and more. He always did little things, like make hot cocoa or pancakes or something to make Akaashi happy and comfortable. He asked to dance with Akaashi more than they really honestly needed to because if anything they should be practicing skating more but whatever, Kuroo gets to be close to Akaashi for prolonged periods like this and bask in everything Akaashi. 

And it seemed like Akaashi liked him back; he showed his interest in Kuroo by also asking about him and learning about what he liked, disliked, interests outside of skating and volleyball, watching his favorite shows with him, making cookies for him when he had the free time. Akaashi never seemed uncomfortable when they practiced dancing together. He never said that Kuroo’s flirting made him uncomfortable or made things awkward. He took time to help Kuroo learn English and made sure Kuroo understood what was happening in the tv shows they watched and whenever they had sessions with Ukai. And he would always seem to… let Kuroo continue flirting and shit. Hell, the first time they were dancing around on their balcony, Akaashi invited him to keep trying to find that button that’d really make Akaashi swoon. 

But also… maybe it was just friendly banter. Maybe Akaashi just didn’t mind his antics and found it amusing and had no problem with it, so he let Kuroo keep doing it because it was harmless fun. Maybe he just was being a really good friend by making cookies and helping him with English and all that shit. Maybe he did see an actual benefit to them dancing all the damn time. Maybe he saw it as a way for them to build trust in each other’s presence. Maybe Kuroo was just overthinking it all and getting ridiculously hopeful that such a wonderful, talented, hard-working person like Akaashi would like him. 

Kuroo didn’t know; he really didn’t. He tried hard not think about it too much because he knew he’d sink down into self doubt. Things were going really good right now, like really fucking good, and so there was no reason to wallow in his negative thoughts and just… keep things as they are: good. 

The two of them made another turn on the balcony, and Akaashi made a comment that it was starting to snow. Kuroo looked up and saw small little puffs of snow cascading down from the sky, just as Akaashi said. Akaashi added that maybe they should head inside, too. 

Kuroo nodded and they slowed to a stop and let go of each other. The warmth he felt from Akaashi quickly evaporating and being replaced with the cold of the outdoors. He followed Akaashi back inside to their shared apartment and Kuroo got started with making hot cocoa, something they had just about every time they came back inside after being out on the balcony. 

And as he was getting out the whipped cream and milk and cocoa powder, Kuroo looked over to Akaashi curled on the couch, channel surfing.

He was drowning in all things Akaashi. 

 

* * *

 

Kuroo was sitting in his room, playing some sort of puzzle game mindlessly. A swipe here and he made a combo. A swipe there and another combo. On and on again until he failed or succeeded at the objective. 

In the other room, Akaashi’s room, he could hear Akaashi on the phone with someone. He was muffled through a wall, and thus Kuroo couldn’t really eavesdrop on the conversation. But Kuroo could tell he was talking to his mother. He laughed a couple of times, light and short, and had a fondness in his tone that he could pick up. Akaashi never spoke like that to Kuroo or even to Bokuto. 

Kuroo had no problem with that. Sometimes you are different to different people; that’s just how it was. You have different relationships with other people. Kuroo’s problem was the fact that he hadn’t heard from his own parents since he even came to Canada. He had texted them once when he landed in Canada, to let them know he was okay and safe, but they didn’t even reply to that. It was disheartening to know his parents probably didn’t care to talk to Kuroo until he proved that this trip and these risks were worth it and he made something of himself. 

Soon enough, Kuroo turned off his phone and stalked his way to the balcony. There was a single chair there, one he and Akaashi recently bought for the balcony. It was a simple chair, similar to those camping chairs with kinda stiff vinyl but it’s a chair, so you can’t really complain that it kinda feels uncomfortable. It was stuffed into a corner of the balcony, forced to take as little space of the balcony floor in it’s folded up form. 

Kuroo didn’t feel like whipping it out and unfolding it just to sit; he was content with simply heading over to the railing and leaning slightly over it on his forearms. The metal bars were cold against his skin, some snow dusting the top of it. He didn’t really care to swipe it away before placing his arms down. It’d dry off anyways. He then looked to the landscape before him, tops of other apartments obscuring his view a little bit, but from the distance he could see the faint outlines and suggestion of mountains, snow capped and covered in trees. 

The cold was slowly nipping at Kuroo’s skin. The cold metal under his forearms started to make his skin numb. His nose and cheeks began dusting with redness. His t-shirt and pajama pants did nothing to keep the cold away much at all, but Kuroo didn’t mind. He didn’t plan to stay out there for long; just enough for Akaashi to wrap up his phone call. If he listened in anymore, he’d think more and more about the deafening silence from his own parents. He didn’t want to twist the knife already planted firmly in his heart. 

Kuroo didn’t expect Akaashi to join him out on the balcony, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and in his hands was another blanket, neatly folded. 

“What are you doing out here?” Akaashi asked softly, closing the balcony door behind him quietly. 

Kuroo shrugged his shoulders. “Wanted to be outside.” 

Akaashi the unfolded the blanket in his hands, and getting up to his tip toes, he placed it over Kuroo’s shoulders. “At least try and stay warm. You can’t get sick.” 

Kuroo couldn’t help the soft smile on his face that formed at the gesture. He tugged the blanket closer to him, covering himself in its fleece and warmth. “Thanks.” He mumbled. 

Akaashi stood beside him, also looking out at the landscape. A breeze rolled in, tousling his hair, his curls swaying in the currents. They stayed silent like this for a while, letting the distant sounds of cars and faraway conversations fill in the space where their words were not. Kuroo appreciated it. Akaashi knew when to respect silence (he did prefer it after all) and it was always a comfortable silence with him. An allowance of the quiet to build up. There was no need to speak unless someone had to. 

Kuroo wrapped his blanket tighter around his body. His bare feet were getting colder and number by the minute. He turned his head to Akaashi, and found him still staring off into the distance, eyes relaxed but focused. 

"Do you want some hot cocoa?" Kuroo asked, voice a little rougher than he was expecting. Akaashi's head turned and he nodded and hummed and without another word the two of them retreated back into the warmth and security of air conditioning. 

The two of them continued in silence into the kitchen, the soft pats of feet against the floor the only sound between them. Akaashi got out the whipped cream and milk, and Kuroo got the mugs and the cocoa powder.  

"You don't have to make it. I've got it," Kuroo said, and Akaashi then headed over to the tall countertop along the border of the sink and dishwasher, climbing onto a stool they had placed at the counter for a nice place to eat meals without getting a dining table. Akaashi watched quietly as Kuroo worked, watching him warm the milk, then add the perfect amount of cocoa, stirring and then adding the final dollop of whipped cream on top. He then headed across the kitchen to Akaashi, sliding him his mug. 

Akaashi gave him a small, sleepy smile. "Thank you," He said. 

Kuroo took a seat next to him. He could feel his hands and nose and cheeks begin to warm and regain feeling again, the biting feeling of the cold melting away from the warmth of the hot cocoa and the warmth of the apartment. They sipped their drinks together, Kuroo occasionally picking up a little bit of the whipped cream with his finger and then licking it off. Soon enough the whipped cream melted into the hot depths of the hot cocoa, though. 

Akaashi finished his drink first, Kuroo not following too far behind. He offered to take care of the cups and did just that, taking the two mugs to the sink and then beginning to rise them with cool water. 

"Hey, Akaashi," Kuroo began, and Akaashi looked up from the mugs and soap in the sink. 

"Yes, Kuroo?" He responded. 

"Have you always been on good terms with your mother?" He asked, and Akaashi found an expression on Kuroo's face and swirling in his eyes that he couldn't really read. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to leisurely cleaning the mugs. 

He took a minute to think before replying. "I guess so, yes. I was never a troublesome child and she was never argumentative or mean." He looked back at Kuroo. "Why do you ask?" 

Kuroo tapped his fingers along the countertop, focusing on his fingers and the grain of the counter. "I've... I've got a shit relationship with my parents. I was wondering if you had any experience with it, I guess." 

Akaashi slowly turned off the faucet and dried off his hands. He could finish cleaning later. His eyes trained on Kuroo. "Kuroo, what's wrong?" He asked softly, voice just barely above a whisper. His tenderness struck a chord in Kuroo's heart. "You've never been like this before. Quiet and unreadable." 

Kuroo stayed silent for a long while, staring still at his fingers as they tapped, tapped, tapped away. 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4, he subconsciously counted. Soon enough, he returned Akaashi's gaze and found a concerned look on his features, one he had never seen before on his face and a look that reminded him of a mother worried for their child's wellbeing. 

"It's nothing. I'm just tired, I guess. Thinking too much." Kuroo shrugged his shoulders and slipped off of the stool. "I'm gonna head to bed." 

Akaashi watched as Kuroo then slinked off to his room slowly, moving like a sloth. Akaashi opened his mouth a few times to say something but words got trapped in his throat and he thought it better to stay silent. He didn't want to force Kuroo to dump his problems onto Akaashi; if Kuroo didn't want to talk, he would respect it. He watched with worried eyes as Kuroo entered his room and quietly closed his door. 

In his room, Kuroo fell flat onto his bed, landing face first right into his pillows. He stayed like that for a bit, feeling the covers begin to warm as it soaked in his body heat. Then he crawled under the covers, the blanket Akaashi gave him still wrapped on his shoulders. It smelt lightly of lavender. 

He curled up under his blankets, enjoying the soft feeling against his skin and the cocoon of warmth he was in. He closed his eyes, ready to fall asleep when his phone began to buzz and it's screen light up, making Kuroo's eyes shoot open. From his bed stand his phone was buzzing loudly. He reached over and snatched it, squinting at the bright screen to read the name on the screen. 

_Mom and Dad._

His parents were calling from the home phone. He hesitated before answering, unsure if he really wanted to hear whatever they were going to say, but swiped to answer regardless. He pressed the phone to his ear. 

"Hello?" 

"Tetsurou? I hope it's not too late there, it sounds like we woke you." His mother's voice poured out from the speaker. He was glad to hear her voice. She was always more gentle than his father. 

"I was getting ready to go to bed so you didn't wake me. Why did you call? You never answered my text," Kuroo sat up in bed, the blanket once on his shoulders falling down. 

"We saw your text, Tetsurou... It's just--" His mother paused, and then he heard his father's voice distantly ask for the phone. He then heard some slight ruffling and then he heard his father's voice. He frowned instantly. 

"Hello, Tetsurou. Listen, I know we said we'd give you a chance at this figure skating crap. But unless you are coming home with some medals, we don't support it." His father's voice was blunt and strict, as it always was. Kuroo resisted the urge to sigh and groan. 

"Why not? Because I can't guarantee bragging rights--" 

"Don't back talk me, Tetsurou. You are making a childish choice to follow some pipe dream. And unless you can prove its something actually useful, you're coming home on your own money and paying for college with your own money. I'm not paying for mistakes." Kuroo bit his tongue, almost hard enough to bleed. Sometimes he really wanted to slap his father. Now, he wanted to punch his throat. 

Kuroo managed to calm himself down, keeping his voice level as he spoke. "Yes, father. I understand." There was no point in arguing. 

"Good. You could've proved yourself with volleyball, you were good with that. Now you pay for your mistakes. I'll talk to you again when you win." The phone sounded ruffled again and Kuroo guessed that the phone was passed back to his mother. 

"...Good luck, Tetsu. I'll.. talk to you later. Bye," His mother spoke softly and quietly, no doubt choosing her words carefully. 

"Bye, mom. I'll see you soon." 

And with that, the call ended. 

Kuroo had to resist the urge to launch his phone into the goddamn fucking Sun. 

Instead he quite carelessly chucked it to the bed, and after a moment of staring angrily at the wall, he flung a pillow at the door. It made a disappointing flop against it and lamely plopped on the floor. It was always like this; his father being the authoritarian figure, and his mother too weak to do anything but weakly hope Kuroo the best. His father wanted a good image, something to brag about, something to make  _him_ _self_ feel important. He never cared about Kuroo's interests unless they proved to be something brag worthy and impressive. He wanted perfect grades, countless scholarships, awards, talent beyond compare. He wanted things he couldn't obtain himself, so he thrusted them onto Kuroo instead. 

"Fucking really? Something safe to chuck and it's not even fucking nice to fucking chuck!" Kuroo aggressively got out of bed, throwing and tossing his covers about harshly and stormed to the pillow on the floor. "I might just buy a plane ticket back to strangle his fucking--" 

As Kuroo snatched up the pillow, he heard a soft knocking against his door. 

"Kuroo?" Akaashi called softly from behind the door. And just like water droplets meeting a hot plate his anger dissipated into the air and fizzled away. He opened the door a little. 

"Yeah...?" He replied. Akaashi had that same concerned look on his face from before, but considerably more ginger and subtle than before. 

"Are you sure you're alright? I, uhm.. heard you speak on the phone and... you spoke to your parents, didn't you?" Akaashi eyes bored into him like they always did when he was talking seriously to Kuroo. His eyes were like pins, and it made Kuroo deflate like a balloon instantly. Kuroo widened the door so Akaashi could come in and he dragged himself to his bed, sitting down on it. He rubbed his eye with his hand, and he felt Akaashi tentatively sit down next to Kuroo, the dipping of the mattress under his weight slow and calculated. He sat at least half a foot away from him. 

Kuroo thought for a moment that it'd be nice to just fucking... hug Akaashi. To cradle him close as he let his emotions run and wash over his body like water cascading down him in a shower. To breathe in that lavender and to grasp the softness of Akaashi's hair and to tug at smooth skin as he cursed his father and wished his mother were more brave, as he berated himself for not being stronger to stand up to this or to be perfect enough that he didn't suffer through this. To feel Akaashi's hot breath fan over his nose and lips as he told Kuroo that his parents don't define him, that Kuroo is good enough the way he is and he doesn't have to prove himself because he doesn't fucking need to. To feel Akaashi kiss away his anger and his sadness and his wishes for a parent like Akaashi's mother. 

But he held himself back. He dragged his hands down his face and stared holes into his thighs. He suddenly felt and saw a hand on his knee, Akaashi's hand, pale and lithe. He looked at Akaashi and his eyes are trained on him still, the look on his face tender. 

"Kuroo," He called out, bringing him back to reality. "Are you okay?" He repeats. 

And that's when Kuroo basically _breaks_. Tears well in his eyes almost instantly and Akaashi doesn't need to hear anything from Kuroo to tell him that he should pull him in for an embrace. And he does. He moves forward and wraps his arms around Kuroo, Kuroo feeling almost limp in his grasp as he feels tears fall down onto his shoulder and Kuroo is softly crying into the fabric of his pajama shirt. Kuroo didn't need to make the first move, Akaashi knew he needed this comfort of physical touch (he just didn't know Kuroo wanted _Akaashi's_ specifically). He lightly drew circles onto Kuroo's back with his fingertips, light and featherlike, something to distract Kuroo as he just let himself cry but was able to focus on that to calm himself down when he was ready. Akaashi closed his eyes and his breathing slowed, continuing to hold Kuroo securely but slack enough to escape from should Kuroo need or want to. And they stayed like this for a while; Kuroo's stutter breaths, muffled against Akaashi's shoulder and shirt the only sound echoing throughout the dark room; Akaashi drawing circles lightly into his back; Akaashi keeping Kuroo close, their body heat melding together. Eventually, Kuroo's arms wrapped around Akaashi in return and grasped tightly onto his shirt like it was an anchor. Slowly his sobs calmed down into just short hiccuped breathes, and soon enough, he was still. He occasionally sniffled, no doubt having a stuffed nose after crying, but he kept his head nestled in Akaashi's shoulder. 

Akaashi had actually almost fell asleep until Kuroo grumbled something against his skin.  

"What..?" Akaashi asked quietly, eyes fluttering open. 

"Can you stay with me?" He repeated, lifting his head. He rested his chin on Akaashi's shoulder. 

Akaashi wasn't sure what Kuroo meant by this. Stay with him for the night? Stay with him... forever? Stay with him for just their time in Canada....? Akaashi furrowed his brows, but realized that to every question he really only had one answer, at least for now. 

"Yes. I'll stay with you." He replied. Kuroo's head dropped down into the crook of Akaashi's neck and shoulder and there he went silent again except for his sniffles. 

Kuroo didn't speak again for the rest of the night. Akaashi's eyes slipped closed once more and he stayed holding onto Kuroo. He could smell the mint-sage he had grown too familiar with. And Kuroo could smell the faint notes of lavender radiating from Akaashi. He reveled in the warmth Akaashi gave off, the softness, the security, the smell and the reassurance. Akaashi would be there. Akaashi would always be there. 

Kuroo's hands loosened their grip on Akaashi's shirt as he let himself fall asleep, eyes heavy and desperate to close after fatigue and the tired all washed over him at once. He was damn exhausted. 

The two of them drifted off to sleep, eventually laying down on the bed but staying in their embrace, their warmth soothing, their scents gentle, and their dreams were pleasant and calm despite the rocky waters of tonight.  

Things should be better in the morning. Things always felt better in the morning after a good cry. 

 

* * *

 

When Kuroo woke up the following morning, he could feel what a tangle of limbs the two of them became. Their arms were still wrapped around each other, but some adjustments had been made in their sleep to stop their arms from falling asleep under them. One of Kuroo's arms was wrapped loosely around Akaashi's waist. Akaashi was curled up right against Kuroo, head right by his chest. If Kuroo simply inhaled, the smell of lavender was strong. Even if Kuroo didn't hold back on his want to embrace Akaashi, it seemed like it would've happened regardless. 

Akaashi was quite warm. The blankets were barely covering them, only resting at their waists. When he looked down at Akaashi's face, he could just barely see it thanks to their rather close position. He could see that he was very much still asleep. His eyes were closed, eye lashes fanning out and he noticed that they were actually quite thick and beautiful. Before Kuroo could look at him more, he nestled his head closer to Kuroo, leaving him unable to see his face entirely now. 

The arm on Akaashi's waist slowly rose and fell along with his slow, even and relaxed breaths. If Kuroo was going to be honest, this was the most wonderful he felt waking up in his entire goddamn life. Despite the fact that this would maybe make things awkward when Akaashi woke up, he took care to relish in the serenity of the moment. Kuroo's fingers absentmindedly stroked along Akaashi's back, mimicking the circles Akaashi made into his own back last night. 

They stayed like this for quite a while. Kuroo was content to stay like this forever; it felt so damn nice. He ignored his phone occasionally buzzing with a notification, not wanting to pry himself away from the wonderful heat of Akaashi even for a second. He almost fell back asleep until his phone buzzed a few times in a row, the sound loud as _fuck_ because it was on a wooden bedside table and it was vibrating. This loud as fuck and prolonged noise made Akaashi finally begin to stir awake. He let out a soft groan, so quiet but the loudest thing in the room (it would've been the second loudest if the phone was still buzzing). He slowly shifted his body. His head nestled even closer to Kuroo but he seemed to be trying to force himself awake, knowing it was probably best if he did. 

He then moved his head back but didn't move away from Kuroo, only lifting his head to look at Kuroo. His eyes were squinting at him. He rubbed at one of his eyes. 

"Kuroo?" He mumbled, his voice laced with sleep and that rough hoarseness that Kuroo had no idea he'd like _that_ much but I guess there was always more to like about Akaashi. Kuroo gave a lazy smile. 

"Yeah?" He replied, and Akaashi yawned, covering his mouth as he did so. 

"Why are we in the same bed together?" God, his voice was so soft but still rough. If Kuroo were to die now, he'd die a happy man. 

"I dunno. I guess we just ended up here?" Kuroo shrugged his shoulders and played with the fabric of Akaashi's shirt. 

Akaashi didn't reply for a little while after that, his eyes slipping closed again. Kuroo guessed he fell asleep again, the tired in him too overpowering to fight. But then he opened his eyes again, and let out another soft groan. 

"I gotta take a shower. I have a session with Ukai..." Akaashi made no move to leave, though. 

Should Kuroo kiss him? Akaashi looked so fucking beautiful, the timing felt just right; if he lived in a romcom, he'd do it, so why not? But life wasn't a romcom. There was a chance Akaashi wouldn't like the kiss, that he didn't like Kuroo that way. 

But before he could really think about it more, Akaashi's hand grasped the hand on his waist and slowly dragged it away from him and pushed it toward Kuroo, then slowly sitting upright. Akaashi's bedhead didn't even look like bedhead; his curls were just slightly more tousled. He yawned again and stretched out his arms. Kuroo stayed laying there, watching him, drinking it all in, just in case this never happened again.  

"Do you want me to make you breakfast?" Akaashi asked, looking at Kuroo. His eyes weren't squinting anymore and he was clearly waking up more and more as they spoke. 

"Yeah. That'd be nice," Kuroo replied, and Akaashi nodded, before getting out of bed, clearly taking his time. Was he hesitating to leave? Kuroo couldn't really tell; Akaashi wasn't the easiest to read.  

And then he left the room, leaving the door open. Soon enough he heard Akaashi starting up the stove and Kuroo could hear him cracking eggs. Then the sound of something cooking on the stove could be heard. Kuroo had to drag himself out of bed at some point. 

He first grabbed his phone from the night stand to see the messages that had lead to Akaashi waking up. He saw some useless notifications for some games he had, then some texts from Bokuto. Kenma had also texted him, but at sometime around midnight. He'd reply to all of this later. Right now, he had a delicious meal by Akaashi to be eating. 

After dragging himself out of bed and looking at himself in the mirror, he could tell he looked fucking _exhausted_. Dark circles were under his eyes and were a bit puffy. His hair was an even bigger mess. He looked like he hadn't slept in 24 hours. Well, whatever. He wasn't leaving the apartment today, so he didn't really care. 

He then went into the kitchen. Akaashi was simply making pancakes using a pancake mix they had bought recently. In another pan, he was making eggs. It smelt absolutely wonderful. 

Taking a seat at the countertop, Akaashi set a dish of two fluffy pancakes and a side of eggs in front of him. He gave Kuroo a small smile as he did so, also giving him the bottle of syrup before making more pancakes to use up the rest of the pancake batter. Kuroo realized the lack of drinks the two of them had, and went on ahead to make coffee for the two of them. Plus, the two of them never started to eat if the other didn't have their food yet or wasn't ready to eat. 

They didn't speak, which didn't happen often. Kuroo would usually talk about the plans for the day, something about one of his sessions with Ukai, or Akaashi would talk about the upcoming skating competitions and what they could have for dinner. Kuroo didn't really want to talk; partially because he didn't want to unload his bullshit onto Akaashi, partially because it would make him feel like shit, and partially because it might end up to discussing the fact that they slept in the same bed together, something that might lead to something more or just an agreement to pretend it never happened. 

Kuroo wanted it to just be something they never talked about. It happened, yes, but we don't need to talk about it sort of deal. So Kuroo didn't talk, and Akaashi seemed pretty focused on cooking or something else and not in a talkative mood either. 

Once Kuroo was done with their coffees, Akaashi was done with the last pancake. They ate in the same silence that was there when Akaashi was cooking and Kuroo was making coffee, the added excuse of food in mouths to stop conversations. 

Akaashi ate a bit quickly, and after checking the time, Kuroo could tell it was because he had woken up late and thus was running a bit late. Akaashi wasn't sleeping in his room where his alarm clock was, so that was probably why. Kuroo maybe should've woken him when he had himself, but that was the last thing on his mind. 

Akaashi placed his plate near the sink and told Kuroo he was going to take a shower and then quickly head out. Kuroo nodded, and finished the last of his eggs. 

Kuroo washed the dishes as he could hear the distant sounds of Akaashi taking a shower. And he was finishing up the last of the dishes, some from last night, as Akaashi was drying his hair quickly with a towel and putting his skates at the door, already dressed for the day. He was putting the plates into the wire rack to air dry as Akaashi wound a scarf around his neck and got his skates, looking down at his phone. 

"I'll see you in a few hours. I'll try and bring home some lunch," Akaashi said to Kuroo. 

"See you later, Akaashi." He then waved, and Akaashi was out the door, locking the door behind him. 

And now Akaashi was gone. 

After putting the last dish in the rack, Kuroo retreated to his room and curled back under his blankets. He didn't really have to do anything today besides maybe study English, but he could do that later. He was still tired as shit.

And when he dragged a pillow over to him and wrapped his arms around it, he was pleased to find it smelled of lavender still. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i rlly hope kuroo's dad being an asshole doesnt seem like it comes out of left field.  
> but more IMPORTANTLY! the boys.... theyre doin it. theyre doin some gay stuff. ooo man.


	10. Cold cold man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updates will be more sporadic from now on--i'm becoming increasingly more busy with school. as soon as may hits, ive got like 50 finals to do lmao  
> i'll do my best to post at least once a week though!

Akaashi was doing his best. 

Akaashi was doing his best to try and ignore or not think too goddamn hard about what he and Kuroo had done two days ago, sleeping in the same bed together. It's not like he regretted it--far from it, really--it was more like... it was ruining his life? 

When slept in his own bed the night after, he felt so fucking cold, it was ridiculous. The heater left the apartment a comfortable warm and his blankets were cocooned securely around him but he was still cold. And when he hugged a pillow, it wasn't as solid as Kuroo was. It didn't smell of mint-sage, it didn't feel like Kuroo's expansive back and couldn't wrap strong arms around him in a secure, firm hold. It didn't radiate warmth like Kuroo did; it was a shit replacement. But Akaashi knew it would be awkward or just plain ridiculous to ask Kuroo if he could sleep with him again. That singular event was to stay one singular event, a one time thing he did to comfort Kuroo and not to please Akaashi. 

But it did feel nice. But he had to not acknowledge it. Kuroo didn't the next morning or when Akaashi returned from his session with Ukai. The next day he said nothing, too. So Akaashi wouldn't say anything about it. If Kuroo didn't feel a need to ask about it, about how it changes their relationship or what it meant or whatever, then Akaashi didn't need to talk about it. He only cared if Kuroo had a problem with it. Otherwise, it was something Akaashi could look back on it and relish in how nice it felt. Just like how he thought about how nice their dances together were like and the hot cocoa afterwards. 

So Akaashi was doing his damn best to keep it all in. 

Then why did Akaashi _not_ want to keep it in so much? 

Akaashi didn't want to talk to Kuroo about it. He still wasn't sure if it was just the attention or Kuroo specifically, and plus, he was pretty content with their friendship currently. They had a good chemistry together and a growing trust between them. He was a good teammate, a respectful roommate, and a wonderful friend. He was comfortable around him. Talking to Kuroo about his feelings would defeat the purpose of him trying to figure out his feelings before he did anything. So if it wasn't Kuroo he wanted to talk to...

...it was Bokuto. 

He didn’t really know anyone else who knew that he and Kuroo were friends and didn’t need the whole backstory of it all. Plus, Bokuto knew Kuroo. And Akaashi didn’t really feel comfortable confiding in anyone else, if he ever did in the first place. 

Thus, that’s how Akaashi ended up laying down on his bed, beginning to type out a message to Bokuto. 

**Me**

Hey Bokuto.

Can I talk to you about something? 

 

**Bokuto**

yeah sure! 

im all ears bro 

 

**Me**

It's kind of... personal. 

And it's about Kuroo. 

 

**Bokuto**

ohh? ohhhhhh???

 

**Me**

Kuroo's always been flirty. You know this. 

And I never told Kuroo to stop it. And it doesn't bother me, it never did. 

If anything I kind of... like it? The attention, I guess. 

You know I've never dated because of how busy I was. 

And now that I've gotten that sort of attention, at least flirting-wise, it's nice to have that attention. 

But I don't know if I like simply just the attention or Kuroo. 

I guess I'm confused if I really might like Kuroo romantically. 

 

**Bokuto**

HOOOOH OH MY GOD

ITS HAPPENING

!!!!!!! 

OOO

okok

dude. 

if u like it when someone flirts with u 

u probably like the person

like

if i flirted with u, u wouldnt like it

cause u dont like me 

but when kuroo does it, u like it

u totally got the hotz for kuroo

 

**Me**

Hm. That's a good point. 

So, say I do like Kuroo then. Or "got the hotz" for him as you say. 

What do I do about it? 

I don't want to potentially ruin our friendship. 

We're roommates and teammates, so making things get awkward between us would be detrimental. 

I don't mind staying like this, in a friendship. 

 

**Bokuto**

i think u like being w/ wat u guys have now bc u guys...

well kuroo at least

bc kuroo flirts a lot

does he do more stuff than flirting? 

bc if he does other like romantic shit im p sure kuroo likes u too 

 

**Me**

Uhm, well. 

He asks me to practice dances with him quite often, even when we don't need to practice. 

And two days ago we slept together in the same bed and Kuroo didn't say anything about it but it wasn't weird about it either. 

I always just assumed Kuroo was like this, just normally a flirty guy who likes physical affection?? 

I don't know. 

 

**Bokuto**

oml 

u guys.... are a fanfic. a full on fanfic 

i gotta write this story out

cause u guys are ridiculous

 

**Me**

? 

 

**Bokuto**

akaashi

im at least 200% sure that kuroo would totally get in on some akaashi for breakfast lunch and dinner if he heard u say u might like him

he might combust into flames first

but thats besides the point

bro

bro bro bro

kuroo fuckin likes u 

like

like likes u 

like he does sometimes flirt w/ me 

but its like that bro shit we do yknow 

"bro ur the center of my world" shit 

he never dances w/ me and shit 

or like

sleep in the same bed w/ me

 

**Me**

How do you know this for certain? 

 

**Bokuto**

omg... omgomgomgomg

do i have 2 call u and hoot and holler into ur ear

its so obvious!!!!!!!

u two are so oblivious and WRECKS

im p sure kuroo isnt sure if u like him either 

if u tell him u like him

he will tell u he likes u too

 

**Me**

...I guess I'll trust you for now. 

But how would I tell him? I've never done this kind of stuff before. 

Do I have to set the scene or something? 

 

**Bokuto**

u mean like

make it romantic? 

not really!! 

u can do it whenever the time feels right. like when u guys are out dancin and u guys like. pause and stare into each others eyes. 

hold out that stare.... 

and then say it. 

"i like u kuroo!" 

and bam u guys kiss and i throw a party 

 

**Me**

That helps very little. 

But I guess you mean do it during an already... tender moment? 

 

**Bokuto**

BAM. perfect 

u dont gotta be all elaborate

no need for flowers and suits and bla bla

just say it! u can spoil him later 

 

**Me**

I... will think about this some more. 

Thank you for your insight, Bokuto. 

I appreciate it heavily. 

I'll keep you updated. 

 

**Bokuto**

get! kuroos! ass! 

 

And with that, Akaashi's arms flopped to his side and he sighed heavily. In Bokuto's opinion, not only does Akaashi like Kuroo, but Kuroo likes him back, and therefore it wouldn't be that much of a gamble to confess his own feelings about it or something. But even with that knowledge, Akaashi was still apprehensive. He trusted Bokuto's opinion, but he couldn't erase that doubt in his mind that told him it could end badly so don't try at all because the risk was too great. 

Akaashi closed his eyes. It was a bad idea to have thought and talked about this shit right before he and Kuroo had a dance lesson. 

And they were doing lifts today. 

If Akaashi could manage his feelings while they continually did shit like this, then he could do it again. Akaashi pushed himself out of bed and went to go take a shower and get ready for the day. Kuroo had already showered earlier this morning and insisted on taking care of breakfast. 

When Akaashi exited the bathroom, ruffling his hair to get it a bit drier, he could smell the eggs wafting through the air. The two of them constantly made eggs, as a lot of the ingredients needed for other Japanese meals were hard to find without going to a Japanese store that was quite a bit ways away. So they made do with what they could and splurged at the Japanese store only once every couple of weeks. 

As Akaashi entered the kitchen and sat at the countertop, two plates of hot food were already on the table. Akaashi was surprised to find little weenies shaped like octopus on the plates. Leave it to Kuroo to do shit like that. Currently, Kuroo was making coffee. Upon hearing Akaashi entered, he looked at him and smiled. 

"Morning," He said, and Akaashi echoed the statement. 

"You made little weenies? How did you find them?" Akaashi asked, waiting for Kuroo to finish with the coffees before beginning to eat. He turned back to said drinks, pouring in a few teaspoons of sugar into one of the mugs and stirring, the spoon tinkling against the sides of the mug. 

"We bought them at the Japanese store a few weeks ago, remember? We just never used them," Kuroo finished stirring and then delivered the coffees to the counter, placing them next to each place. "I found them while I was thinking about what to make." 

The two of them started eating after that, a casual conversation about speculations on how their time with Saeko today was going to be like. She explicitly had told them last week that they were likely ready to start lifts, but said nothing more. Akaashi didn't have any qualms or problems with this; he was more worried about how Kuroo might enthusiastically ask Akaashi to lift him all the time while they were at the apartment. Their dance “practice” out on the balcony was fun. But if Kuroo picked him up and held him in the air while they were waltzing away on the balcony, he might just have a heart attack. 

And after their food was eaten, the dishes lightly washed for now and their things all collected, they headed out to the dance studio. 

As usual, Saeko led them in a warm up to stretch out their limbs and to get them ready. Akaashi found that he was getting actually a bit more flexible thanks to these stretches and warm ups, and Kuroo found that he was as well. Akaashi was already pretty flexible beforehand, but Kuroo getting more flexible was most certainly a really good thing. 

After stretching out, Saeko wasted no time in getting right to the thick of things. She didn’t have them do any partnered dances. She instructed Kuroo to first simply pick up Akaashi in any way he saw fit. Thanks to Kuroo being behind him, Akaashi couldn’t see the shit-eating grin on his face. So when Kuroo went on ahead and picked Akaashi up bridal style, he nearly had a heart attack from the sudden movement off the ground. His arms instantly grabbed onto Kuroo’s shoulders, having never been picked up before in his life. 

“What the hell, Kuroo!” Akaashi looked at him, eyes wide. 

“What? She told me to pick you up.” Kuroo gave him a smirk. 

“Good, you can pick up Akaashi with no problem. Please put him down. He looks scared as shit,” Saeko jumped in, looking a bit amused.

After receiving a short glare from Akaashi, Kuroo placed Akaashi down onto his two feet. Saeko then clapped her hands and smiled brightly. “Now that we know Kuroo can pick Akaashi up, we just need to get Akaashi used to that. I don’t think we can get to a full on lift today, but we can get pretty close.” 

Thus, they began to practice actual proper lift forms. Thanks to their dance practice with waltzes and the like, the apprehension of being close to each other was rather diminished. They were used to each other’s presence and thus trusted one another. However, Kuroo was now behind Akaashi for basically all of this, which at first was completely fine—and then Akaashi began realizing that his ass was quite close to Kuroo, and if he leaned back just a little bit, he’d be able to lean against Kuroo’s expansive chest, and for some reason he felt… exposed? Kuroo was taller than Akaashi and could look down at him, and from this angle it would be easier for Kuroo to kiss his neck than his face…. 

Oh God. Now Akaashi had gotten so distracted that he didn’t really pay attention to what the fuck Saeko was saying until Kuroo’s hands were gingerly placed on his hips and then he was lifted straight up. His eyes widened and he instinctually squirmed a little, but calmed down, telling himself it was just Kuroo, just Kuroo holding him, but _fuck_  it was _Kuroo_  holding him, just Kuroo’s hands on his waist, his strong fingers digging into the flesh of his hips with such a deliciously strong grip— 

God _damnit_. Akaashi forced himself to stop thinking about that dumb shit, instead focusing on literally anything else. Wow, the floorboards are so smooth. Saeko’s shirt is… cool. The bar lining the mirrors in front of them are straight as fuck. And soon enough he was placed back down on the floor, slowly and gently. Saeko commented something on how less petrified Akaashi looked during this. 

Well, at least it wasn’t obvious he was extraordinarily distracted by Kuroo’s _hands_. 

 

* * *

 

Just like Saeko had predicted, they didn’t do the lifts common in skating where Akaashi goes over Kuroo’s head. But they did quite a few dancing lifts, and with time, Akaashi got used to being lifted. He found that he wouldn’t freak out that much if he focused hard on how nice Kuroo’s hands felt or something else Kuroo related that he liked. He absolutely hated that that was what helped him deal with it, but it fucking worked and that’s all that mattered.  

God, Akaashi was really deep in attraction for Kuroo. He really should tell him before it starts eating at him more and more like some sort of parasite. But Akaashi was still lost on the _how_. Bokuto did give… some helpful pointers, but it was still a bit confusing. How was he supposed to know exactly when to do it? He couldn’t just feel the atmosphere and tell. He had never been in a relationship before. He had fleeting feelings here and there, but they were never this intense and invaded this much of his goddamn life. Why couldn’t Kuroo make a move? He seemed like he knew how relationships work and Bokuto said he was showing clear interest, so why didn’t he ever just… say something?

Bokuto also said that Kuroo was probably unsure if Akaashi liked him, though. They were both apprehensive fucks who just wanted to wait their feelings away or something. How absolutely ridiculous all of this was. 

Akaashi almost shoved his face down into his bowl of cereal. Instead, though, he softly sighed, looking down at his soggy Frosted Flakes. Kuroo noticed this being the first noise Akaashi made the entire morning and looked at him. 

“Something on your mind?” He asked, and Akaashi simply shrugged his shoulders. 

“Kind of,” He replied, taking in another bite of the soggy cereal. They tasted like nothing and felt like disappointment. Did he really think that hard and for so long his cereal went soggy?

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kuroo placed down his spoon, a sign he was willing to give all his attention to Akaashi. Akaashi hated that. He wanted Kuroo to go back to eating so Akaashi didn’t feel compelled to speak his feelings into fruition right now. His stomach felt like it was being constricted by a snake; his throat went a little dry. Was this the moment Bokuto was talking about? Should he just say something was he bored holes into his soggy, sad and unpleasant bowl of cereal? He wasn’t ready. It felt like a dumb moment to confess it, but the opportunity was there. Akaashi bit his lower lip. 

“…No. It’s nothing that important.” Akaashi finally replied. He was sick of his stupid cereal and the snake tightening its grip upon his stomach allowed no room for even one more bite. Akaashi slipped off the chair and went to go dump the left over cereal down the drain. 

Kuroo watched him, looking a bit worried but didn’t really want to press it. It reminded him of the night his parents called him with the shittiest words to say. He hoped this wasn’t a repeat of that (but sleeping in bed together again would be nice). 

“If you ever do need to, I’m all ears.” Kuroo said, and Akaashi met his gaze. His features were soft. His words light. It stabbed him right in the heart. He swallowed thickly and nodded, before making his way to the bathroom to take a shower. 

When the hot stream hit his body, he closed his eyes and just stood there for a while. Steam built up pretty quickly from the hot temperature of the water, fogging up the mirror and letting a thin veil of condensation form on the cold metal of the towel rail in the bathroom. And just as quickly, Akaashi felt quite fucking stupid. He knew it was at least a decent moment to say something, anything, more than that. But the moment was gone. it was a wasted opportunity, but… he had to have more, right? The two of them lived together, they danced and skated together. He had plenty of chances again to maybe at least hint at it.  

This was ridiculously frustrating. Was it always like this? Was it always ridiculously nerve-wracking and scary to just confess your goddamn feelings? Was it constantly a guessing game of ‘is now a good time or not’? Bokuto got into relationships easily, it seemed. Was it because he just had that confidence?  

Deciding he spent way too fucking long just standing under the shower head and thinking, he washed his hair and body before slipping out of the shower, drying himself off and getting dressed. He brushed his teeth, making himself think about what he had to do today to avoid thinking about Kuroo. He had to go grocery shopping. He had to get eggs, milk, and pancake mix. He rinsed his mouth out with water and left the bathroom. He couldn’t hear Kuroo in the kitchen, and didn’t see him in the living room. He guessed Kuroo was just in his room, and left to his own. 

After checking the time, Akaashi began getting his keys, wallet and phone before heading out. And when he opened his room door, Kuroo was there, an arm raised and a hand balled into a fist, clearly ready to knock on the door. Akaashi looked up at him with wide eyes, surprised to see him. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment.

“…Do you need something, Kuroo?” Akaashi finally spoke. 

Kuroo cleared his throat and brought his arm down to his side. “Uhm.. yeah. I wanted to talk to you,” 

Akaashi looked at him, curiously. “Ok. That’s fine.” Akaashi then moved back and opened the door some more to let Kuroo in to his room. He came in, looking a bit awkward and tense as he walked to Akaashi’s bed and sat down onto it carefully. He had an expression on his face that was unreadable like that night the two of them slept together in Kuroo’s room. Akaashi then sat next to Kuroo, leaving a respectable amount of space between them. Kuroo was fidgeting a little with his shirt sleeve, mulling over something. 

“What did you want to talk about?” Akaashi asked, folding his hands in his lap. Kuroo looked at Akaashi, holding his gaze for a few seconds before looking away.

“About… about uh…what happened two days ago.” Akaashi could feel his stomach dropping, as if it was falling down 50 feet. The same dryness in his throat from earlier came back. His heart was pounding, thumping hard in his chest and beating loud in his ears. His hands went cold. 

“What… what specifically?” Akaashi asked. Was is that Akaashi overstepped his bounds and shouldn’t have consoled Kuroo? Should he not have eavesdropped like he did? Should he just have left Kuroo alone? Should he have said something, literally anything, during that entire exchange? Akaashi kept his gaze on Kuroo. He looked at his cowlicks and bed head. He was biting his lower lip. God, just spit it out already, Kuroo, Akaashi thought to himself. The silence was deafening. 

The silence stretched out for what felt like eternities. Akaashi was about ready to just pass out so he could escape this situation. There was no way Kuroo was going to confess anything, not unless he also talked to Bokuto and he said the same things to Kuroo as he had said to him. Oh shit, wait, it wasn’t unlikely that that was what was happening. Was Kuroo confessing his feelings? When Akaashi wanted Kuroo to confess, it didn’t actually fucking mean it!  

“I… uh… liked… sleeping with you?” Kuroo looked at Akaashi again, and his eyes widened when he realized his poor choice of words. “Well—I mean—not.. y’know.. but like…” He sighed heavily. “I… like you, Akaashi.” 

Akaashi’s heart pounding in his ears was so fucking loud now. He was surprised he could hear Kuroo at all. With how loud his heart was, he wasn’t sure if he heard Kuroo’s words right. He stared at him, incredulously, and completely silent. It was like his brain short circuited and needed a reboot to be able to function. 

“Akaashi?” Kuroo said, concern lacing his words. “Are you ok? Fuck, maybe I shouldn’t have told you. You didn’t seem perfectly ok earlier, but I thought you were just tired… I’ll… I’ll head out now, yeah? I’ll do the grocery shopping.” Kuroo was rambling, basically having a conversation with himself. He got up and began to head out, but Akaashi sprung up suddenly and grabbed Kuroo’s wrist tightly, stopping him in his tracks. 

“Akaashi, what—“ 

A hand on his neck, a tug downwards, and lips collided. 

Akaashi had to do it. Before he thought too fucking hard again, before he let his self doubt drag him further into the hole of denial. He had verbal confirmation. Kuroo said it. His heart was loud but Kuroo was louder. Akaashi’s head was spinning. Kuroo kissed back. He tasted like chocolate. Those wonderfully strong hands soon snaked around Akaashi’s waist, resting comfortably in its curve. Akaashi wound his arms around his neck and shoulders, pulling him down a bit more. Akaashi didn’t want to pull away. Time stood so wonderfully still. Akaashi could die like this. 

Kuroo slowly pulled himself away, making Akaashi give out a little whine in protest. But he kept his face close, leaning his forehead against Akaashi’s. Their faces were so close, Akaashi could count the each eyelash lining Kuroo’s eyes. He could see the faint dusting of freckles. He could see every detail of pore, of hair, of smooth skin. And his piercing amber eyes, hyper-focused on Akaashi. Kuroo’s thumbs idly stroked Akaashi’s hips. 

“Do you.. uhm… want to date? I guess?” Akaashi asked, really unsure of what the fuck they should do now. Yeah, they kissed, yeah, they like each other—but he just needed to be certain that Kuroo wanted the same thing as he did. 

Kuroo let out a laugh, low and rumbling; Akaashi felt it under his fingers. “Fuck yeah. I’ve been wanting to for way too long.” 

Akaashi’s heart was still noticeably beating, but now it felt like a flutter. It wasn’t deafening. It felt wonderful. 

“So… does that mean we kiss.. and stuff?” Akaashi asked, apprehensively. 

“Unless you didn’t like the one we just shared, then yes. Kisses, hand-holding, whatever you want.” Kuroo had a grin on his face that just never left. It wasn’t like his smirks or his mischievous grins. It was a happy, wide smile that was contagious, making Akaashi smile, too. 

And just as apprehensively as he asked his questions, he gave a soft peck to Kuroo’s lips. “I’ve got to go grocery shopping now.” 

Kuroo pouted, but slowly moved away from Akaashi, clearly not wanting to let go of Akaashi just yet. “I’ll see you later then, angel.” He said, voice low and quiet, as if he were saying those words only for Akaashi to hear, and no one else on the planet. Akaashi gave a quick kiss to Kuroo’s cheek and said goodbye, before heading out to finish his errands. Akaashi rolled his eyes when Kuroo whistled as Akaashi walked out.

And as he rode in the car to the grocery store, and as he leisurely made his way through the aisles, weaving this way and that between people and shelves, he kept thinking about how dizzying Kuroo was in that moment. How strong his scent was, how surprisingly soft his hair felt, how nice it felt to kiss him, how perfect that stupid little moment was. Akaashi most definitely walked through the aisles of the store with a small grin on his face. He made sure to buy snacks he knew Kuroo liked, and planned to pick up some pastries from his favorite cafe nearby. 

And as Akaashi was reaching for a box of pancake mix, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Unsurprisingly, he found a text from Kuroo. 

 

**Kuroo <3**

guess who just figured out uber eats

_(img00103.png received!)_

 

The picture attached was of some Canadian snacks Akaashi had taken a liking to since he had begun living here, along with a set of cupcakes. How fast Kuroo did all of this was ridiculous. How the two of them both immediately were getting gifts for one another was ridiculous. All of it was ridiculous. 

But it made him ridiculously happy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BOOM.  
> i'm really glad i made this the midpoint of the fic ! im an absolute slut for symmetry and thus having this chapter be right in the middle? *kisses fingers like an italian chef* now thats perfect.


	11. Bokuto interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's no real point to this chapter other than it being a sort of light hearted thing. feel free to skip it if you wish! it is ridiculously short tho :P

Bokuto was loosing his mind. 

In one day, in one fucking day, his two close friends, Akaashi and Kuroo, both texted him about their feelings for each other. Bokuto had known the two harbored some sort of feelings for each other for a while now, but he didn’t say anything unless he absolutely had to. He wanted their relationship to flow without his interference. They progressed painfully slow. And they were painfully oblivious to one another. But then they _both_  texted him about the _same shit_  and Bokuto almost screamed out loud after receiving the text, more than extremely excited about this development. 

He did his best to not do anything but assure the two of them that their feelings were reciprocated (Bokuto had proof, plus the two were so obvious about it). He didn't want to force them to confess in any specific way or at any specific time--only that if they do confess, it will not be met with failure and if anything the complete opposite. But when he told this shit to both of them, he didn't expect this: 

 

**Kubro**

BRO 

BRORBERIROEBRIBRO

AKAASHI KISSED ME ? 

i confessed my shit like u said 

and at akaashi jus stared at me like a scared puppy

so i was like shit this was probs a bad time

then he fucking pulled me down and KISSED me

and he asked if we're datin 

and if its ok to kiss and shit 

BRO 

he's out grocery shopping and i bought him cupcakes 

bless u for ur help 

 

**Kaashi**  

Fuck. Bokuto.

I kissed Kuroo. 

I guess we’re dating now? 

 

Bokuto was loosing his goddamn mind. 

 

* * *

 

Bokuto watched their relationship entirely from the sidelines. He first became an interested spectator when Kuroo told him he was signing up for some skating lesson with Akaashi Keiji. He held back the very important fact and information that Bokuto was a friend of Akaashi, having gone to the same high school and everything with him. He thought it’d be interesting to see where their relationship, if it did go anywhere at all, where he could see it from Kuroo’s and Akaashi’s perspectives. Kuroo originally only wanted to meet Akaashi, as he was a big fan of his. But as soon as he saw Akaashi in person, he started to like Akaashi, a simple interest. The more the two of them interacted, Kuroo told him, the more of a person Akaashi became than just some one dimensional performer. He was gentle and kind and never passed unjustified judgement. 

Akaashi didn’t really mention Kuroo until Kuroo became his only advanced student and they exchanged numbers. He told Bokuto that Kuroo was a bit of a mess at first, giving him a weird first impression, but as time passed, he learned that Kuroo was a willing student ready to learn and eager to do so as well. He practiced hard and liked being taught by Akaashi. His antics were never painfully annoying, and if anything, a bit charming. Akaashi enjoyed teaching Kuroo and enjoyed having him as a student. 

And then there was the whole thing where they played volleyball together. They had a really good dynamic together; and it seemed like everytime Bokuto looked over at Akaashi, he had a small grin on his face. He was visibly showing his enjoyment. It wasn't often Bokuto saw that, but it was always nice to see. Kuroo and Akaashi clicked together in a way Bokuto couldn't describe when Akaashi set and Kuroo would spike the ball perfectly. They had some sort of unspoken conversations between them as they moved around the court. Bokuto imagined they had this same sort of connection on the ice, too. 

So it was weird to learn, after that, that Kuroo dropped skating entirely, dejectedly telling Bokuto over coffee that it wasn't doing his career any favors. Bokuto didn't want to force Kuroo to do anything, so he merely assured him that as long as he found it to be the right move, then it was the right move. Kuroo then told him that it sucked he wouldn't be able to see Akaashi that often anymore. And it was then that Bokuto suspected that there was maybe something more beginning to bubble below the surface.  Bokuto kept silent, though, making no comment about it as he let Kuroo continue to talk about Akaashi and skating. It let him get some steam out, let him think about skating without it getting in the way of volleyball. And after they finished their drinks, Kuroo headed out to the gym to go practice on his own. 

Bokuto thought all of it was going to come to an end. Akaashi was bound to return back to competitive skating; he wasn't the type to let his breaks drag on for longer than absolutely necessary and Bokuto knew how desperately he wanted to get back into competition. Kuroo was training hard for his college volleyball career, balancing academics, sport and leisure surprisingly well but as volleyball season was approaching, something had to give. It was a fun run, Bokuto thought as he walked into his dance studio one day. It was interesting watching his two friends from afar, listening to their recounts and recreation of events from both perspectives. And sure, after that volleyball game it was clear that Bokuto knew them both, but that didn't seem to really register with literally either of them. They kept on with talking to Bokuto occasionally about each other. But things were changing, as they always must.

Bokuto was stretching out when he heard his phone vibrate from across the room. He had no lessons to teach and no rehearsals today, just time to himself to practice on his own, so he told himself it'd be ok to just sneak a peak. He didn't have to reply or anything like that, just see the message. So after quickly finishing up his leg stretches he bounced up onto his feet and padded over to his bag, digging around for his phone. After fishing it out, unlocking it and checking the message, Bokuto almost had a stroke. 

 

**Kubro**

oh bro

idk whats gonna happen

but i quit volleyball

and i told akaashi

bc i wanna switch to skating now

but akaashi found a FUCKIN coach!!!!

and hes goin back to canada!!!!!!!

 

There was a lot to unpack in this message. So much so Bokuto had to sit down and he hunched over his phone to reply. First, Kuroo fucking quit volleyball? It seemed like he was fully dedicated to it not too long ago, but then again, he and Kuroo didn't hang out in person as often anymore. It surprised Bokuto he made such a move, but at the same time, it made sense. Kuroo told Bokuto a few times that it just felt better to skate than it did to play volleyball. He couldn't really describe it, but he guessed it was because it was new and exciting and just became more enticing than volleyball He saw himself being happier pursuing a different career. He knew his parents would hate that decision, but it was his choice. And Bokuto supported his bro every step of the way. Kuroo knew Kuroo best. 

Second... Akaashi found a fucking coach? 

Then, Bokuto texted out a sloppy text to Akaashi, in disbelief that he had found a coach. It not like it wasn't going to happen, but it felt like Akaashi hadn't really been here for all that long and now he was leaving again. 

And thus, Bokuto began having a conversation with the two of them. He talked to Kuroo about what he could do now that he's made this switch but doesn't have Akaashi to support him (it's really not like he had no other options). And he talked to Akaashi about his sudden brilliant idea of having Kuroo be his skating partner. He was half joking when he suggested it. He didn't really know if it'd be really feasible for them to do, and Akaashi confirmed that it'd be a little bit hasty of a decision to make for money and time reasons. But at the same time, it would be interesting to see Kuroo and Akaashi out on the ice together one day, performing together with the same synchronization as they did when they played volleyball. It was mostly just wistful thinking, an idea that might spring some other novel solution that was better for both parties. 

And then they actually became fucking partners. 

Bokuto couldn't believe it when Akaashi was talking to him over lunch at their favorite ramen place that he actually went through with Bokuto's idea and now he and Kuroo were partners. Kuroo was actually able to travel to Canada with him, and with how well he learned and adapted to skating, he wouldn't be starting off at the worst point. Not the best point, but it was better than starting from ground zero. He felt sad, though, realizing that not only Akaashi was leaving, but Kuroo too. Two of his best friends were leaving. And while Bokuto wasn't dying without Akaashi when he left before, there was a noticeable absence in his life. He couldn't imagine how boring life would be without Akaashi _and_ Kuroo gone. 

Thus, he vowed to send as much Japanese stuff as he could that they wanted. He tried to text as often as he could, about everytime he saw a dog or visited Akaashi's mother. And in return, he got ... more and more updates on Kuroo's and Akaashi's developing relationship. It seems like them being roommates really was the catalyst in making the both of them really realize they kind of really had a thing for each other. It fucking sucked not seeing these two be love struck idiots in person, but the text updates were always ridiculously entertaining. After Kuroo and Akaashi partner danced for the first time, Kuroo kept gushing about how good Akaashi was at dancing. Bokuto, of course, mentioned how he trained Akaashi to be so good, but also agreed. And then Akaashi talked a few times about how ridiculous Kuroo was with his antics of wanting to dance on the balcony constantly, but he, like the flirting, had no problem with that. He got hot cocoa after (and to touch Kuroo). 

And then he heard the story about Akaashi and Kuroo sleeping in the same bed together after a shitty call with Kuroo's parents. It's like these two were just a fanfic. Especially with how the two of them were so hesitant to say anything about that night and their now very realized feelings for one another so as to not break what they have now. It was _excruciating_  to wait the 2 full days before this absolute idiots finally made some sort of move. Bokuto had to interfere at this point, because not only did the two of them message him about what the fuck to do, but because  _shit_  they needed to get together already. 

So now we're full circle. After Bokuto talked to the two of them, a few hours later did he get replies from the both of them. Bokuto collapsed onto his couch when he read those messages, having returned home from dinner with a dance friend. He then proceeded to whoop and punch the air excitedly. Finally, those two idiots were together. Finally those two idiots said their feelings outloud. And finally those two fucking idiots were dating. 

He replied one thing to the both of them. 

**Me**

i told u so 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bokuto is the biggest shipper of kuroaka.


	12. For elise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just so people are aware, there is like.... minor abusive parent stuff in this? no physical abuse, more emotional and psychological. If that is a problem for you, it is ok to skip this chapter ^^

 Akaashi was nervous.

It had been quite a long time since Akaashi felt nervous. The last time was when he was mulling over when to tell Kuroo his feelings, but that was a different nervous. It was an anxiety, an apprehension, a caution. Now, it was a nervousness that made his mind blank out a lot and only focus on one thing. His one thing to focus on right now was Kuroo’s hand in his own, how Kuroo’s thumb mindlessly stroked along the back of his palm. He didn’t hear Ukai’s voice telling the two of them something about something else. He didn’t see the storm of people in the stands and crowding the entrance and exit to the rink, recording every move and flashing their cameras practically every second. He only felt Kuroo's hand and the thumb stroking along the back of his own. For now, his only link to reality. He felt like he was disconnected 

Akaashi was _nervous._

He hadn't been this nervous since his first competition outside of Japan, where he was on foreign soil among foreign people speaking foreign languages. After his performance, he grew familiar with the competition circuit, and quickly made friends as well. He was quite close to Oikawa Tooru for a little while, but they fell out of touch after Akaashi took his break. He wondered if he'd see him again, but partnered skating and singles were separate events and happened at different times and days.

He and Kuroo had somehow ended up on the outskirts of the rink, the wall the only thing separating them from the ice itself. Kuroo’s hand slipped away from his own to slip off his blade covers. And seemingly in an instant, the sounds of the crowd, the click of cameras, the echoing sound of the announcer flooded into his ears. He realized he felt a bit cold. And finally, he could hear what ever the hell Ukai was talking about.

“You’ve practiced this so many times, I’m sure you both will do perfect.” He said with a smile, and Akaashi managed to give him a small smile in return, nodding his head. He slipped off his own blade covers.

Kuroo turned to Akaashi, looking at him. His outfit sparkled like glittering, twinkling stars. He wore a black button up with loose, billowy sleeves, the upper buttons unbuttoned to show off some of his chest. Sequins were concentrated on his shoulders and then became more dispersed down along his arms, chest and back. His pants were the typical skin tight type in the same black as his shirt. He looked ridiculously good. Akaashi hoped he didn’t stare too long at Kuroo while they were on the ice, because he could get lost in all of Kuroo much too easily.

“Are you ok?” Kuroo asked, reaching out to lightly hold Akaashi’s hands. “You seem spaced out. And I hope it’s because I am super hot right now,”

Akaashi wished that was the reason for how spaced out he was. “I’m nervous.” He said simply.

Kuroo squeezed Akaashi’s hands. “You’re not going to be alone on the ice. I’ll be there every step of the way.” 

Akaashi’s mouth turned into a smile, a genuine one this time. He squeezed Kuroo’s hands back. “Just don’t drop me." 

“It’s the last thing I’ll ever do.”

Soon enough, Akaashi could hear the announcer’s voice inform them that they were due to enter the rink. And after giving a nod to Ukai, they headed out onto the ice. Akaashi’s nerves were still there, a feeling of a need to get moving now or he’d get too restless and fidgety. Making a circle out on the ice helped a little, but once they got into position, still as they waited for the music to begin, he got antsy once more. A hush fell over the crowd as they settled into position. Akaashi flicked his eyes up to look at Kuroo, who gave him a little lopsided grin, before the music started. A single chord of an electric piano, and then the vocalist came in immediately after. The two of them immediately started along with the music, first starting off with a step sequence that mirrored one another but Akaashi skated left and Kuroo to the right. Their movements were more slow and calm, matching the mood of the music. And as the song slowly began to pick up a little in tempo and intensity, they did too, foot work getting a bit quicker. The focus on what Akaashi was doing made that antsy feeling from earlier completely dissipate into thin air.

Once the song picked up even more and reached the chorus, the two of them met back together and performed their first jump. Akaashi could hear that they landed at the same time and Kuroo did not fall, but Akaashi didn’t dwell on it much longer. Then, the song finally picked up to its true tempo and more upbeat feel; their dance mirrored that same shift. And Akaashi felt himself finally sinking deep into the song playing through the speakers, the song he heard countless times, over and over. Every move he made on the ice followed the beat of the music and the swell of the vocalist. The sensuality of the song sunk deep into Akaashi’s bones, and every contact he made with Kuroo, he made sure to play up that sensuality. A lingering touch, a gaze held out long, a coy move. And the jumps that followed were successes. And when Kuroo lifted him up to perform a throw jump, it was executed with practiced ease. He felt weightless in the air, a different feeling to the jumps that he was used to. 

When the song reached its final peak with the last iteration of the chorus, they performed a death spiral and as they completed the rotations, Kuroo pulled him up and forward, pulling him in close as they ended the program with a close embrace, eyes focused on each other as the final notes of the song faded away. 

Akaashi didn’t tear his eyes away from Kuroo when the crowd erupted in applause and the announcer spoke again. He smiled at Kuroo widely, chest heaving along with his.

“Told you I wouldn’t drop you.” Kuroo grinned right back, and Akaashi merely rolled his eyes before they moved away from each other enough to head to the exit of the rink. At the mouth of the exit, Ukai was waiting, a big ass smile on his face, looking like a proud father. He handed them their blade covers to slip back on before patting them both on the back, a little too hard for Akaashi’s liking. 

“That was the best you’ve done the program. Practically no flaw that I could see.” Ukai said, voice loud and proud. “Good job, both of you.”

Akaashi looked at Kuroo and told him what Ukai had said, but Kuroo stopped him short. “I don’t need a translation for “we did fucking amazing.”

The exhaustion from the performance never once outweighed how happy Akaashi felt; a happiness that they did their first skate, a happiness that they didn't mess up, a happiness that he was back on the ice and he was skating with Kuroo. As they made their way to the kiss and cry room, Akaashi couldn't stop smiling. He felt so fucking happy with what he had done, genuine pride over his performance and with Kuroo's as well. Their months of training, individually, together, on the ice and in the dance studio paid off. It felt so fucking rewarding to show off that hard work to the world for the first time.

The three of them sat down in the kiss and cry room, patiently awaiting for their scores. Kuroo was bouncing his leg in antsy anticipation. Akaashi wondered what Kuroo was feeling; this was his first time competing out on the ice, after all. Akaashi’s first time was not only nerve-wracking due to everything being so foreign, but he had never been scored on his performance before. He merely trained up to that moment. He had no way of knowing how to get higher scores on the ice if he had never been given a score before. He had no way of knowing how much his hard work paid off until he was scored. Akaashi gently grabbed Kuroo’s hand, and Kuroo squeezed it firmly. Akaashi looked at him, and he was looking up at the television screen, chewing on his bottom lip. He was completely focused on it, not even noticing Akaashi’s gaze on him.

Akaashi looked away and toward the screen.

He squeezed Kuroo's hand back. He didn't really know what to expect for his results. He had never done paired skating before. He only knew the expectations for a single skater, a skater relying solely on themself for everything.. He didn't know if their flips were complex enough to garner a high score, if they synchronization on the ice was perfect enough to rack up points, if their step sequence was engaging and difficult enough for the judges to be impressed.

Soon enough, their score came up on the screen. And Ukai whooped loudly, clearly happy with the score. Akaashi stared blankly up at it, watching was the screen then went to the current standings and his eyes stared up at the screen at two names in first place.

_Their_ names.

Kuroo Tetsurou and Akaashi Keiji.

There were still a few skaters left to go; their placement was subject to change, but the fact that they placed anywhere near the top was... amazing. He then looked at Kuroo, and he was beaming so brightly he shone like the sun. He was practically bouncing in his seat. The announcer said something about how absolutely unbelievable it was for two newcomers to place so high. Then Kuroo's hands grabbed the sides of Akaashi's face and pulled him in and then they _kissed_. The sounds around them immediately drowned out, Akaashi's mind only focusing on Kuroo's lips and the warmth seeping into his skin from his hands and how his fingers curled to hold Akaashi a little bit tighter and to bring him a little bit closer.

Kuroo broke apart from him much too fast, but Akaashi knew there'd be more kisses later on. More kisses and longer ones.

"You're amazing," Akaashi said, almost breathlessly, lips curving up into a smile.

"And so are you." Kuroo replied. 

 

* * *

 

When the competition for paired skating finally came to an end, Kuroo and Akaashi ended up placing 3rd overall. Akaashi was more than fucking happy with their results; it was a good spot to be in to qualify for the World Cup. It also meant that they knew what they were doing right and what could be improved on to solidify their place in first next time around. Kuroo was also extremely happy with their result. When Kuroo, Ukai and Akaashi went out for dinner together to celebrate after the conclusion of the competition, Kuroo was so riled up and wouldn't stop talking about anything and everything about their program. How he felt landing all his jumps, how happy he felt with his throws and just how damn well they did in general.

Akaashi was pleased as well, but wasn't the type to show it very much outwardly. He did smile way more than he had in a long time. He was genuinely proud of their hard work and performance; it was a good start and showed that they had real promise in the future. Akaashi felt extraordinarily happy that night, riding the high of bliss and pride even as they groggily stepped up the stairs to their apartment, the sun already having dipped far into the horizon and the only thing illuminating the streets being the tall lamp posts and lights near doorways.

The two of them collapsed on the couch, too exhausted to want to make it any further than that. Akaashi wouldn't complain if they ended up sleeping there if it meant he got to sleep with Kuroo at his side. Akaashi pulled out his phone, having not checked it ever since the morning when he woke up. He was unsurprised to find several messages from several people, unopened and unread on his phone. Bokuto texted him, Oikawa texted him, a few other friends from skating and from high school, and his mother. He went through them all, responding to them all, but eventual his eyelids were growing heavier and heavier and he was getting sleepier and sleepier.

He was just about to drift asleep when Kuroo moved, getting up off the couch. Akaashi jumped awake, sad that his source of warmth and the shoulder he was leaning on was now gone. He looked at Kuroo, watching as he quickly went into his room, phone pressed to his ear. As he entered his room, Akaashi could hear Kuroo's voice saying something of a greeting but he was immediately cut off. Eventually, Kuroo was too far for Akaashi to be able to listen in and eavesdrop. He sat up a bit straighter and hoped that Kuroo's parents hadn't called and were going to make another shit situation. Akaashi didn't really know anything about Kuroo's relationship with his parents other than the fact that it was rocky and not stable. Kuroo didn't say anything about them in any conversation, only once briefly saying his mother was pretty but that didn't tell Akaashi anything about what kind of people they were. But if the last interaction aftermath he saw indicated anything, it was that it probably wasn't healthy, at least for right now.

Akaashi made himself stay awake. He reached forward and grabbed the remote to the tv, turning it on and thoughtlessly channel surfed. Nothing really interesting was on thanks to how late at night it was. If Kuroo was going to have another problem with his parents, he wanted to be there for Kuroo. If he just needed a presence there for him, then Akaashi would be there. If he needed a shoulder to try on, his shoulder was always available. If Kuroo wanted to rant out his problems, then Akaashi’s focus would be all onto Kuroo and listening to him. He didn’t want their relationship to be the kind where it felt uncomfortable to talk or express emotions; Akaashi felt comfortable with Kuroo, comfortable enough to talk to him if he ever needed to. He hoped Kuroo felt the same for him. 

The sound of the tv easily drowned out the distant sound of Kuroo’s conversation a room away. He almost forgot that Kuroo was in the other room talking in the first place. Reruns of one of Akaashi's favorite cooking shows was actually on right now, Chopped. He was always surprised at how all the chefs managed to get such good looking meals out of ingredients that, most of the time, Akaashi had never seen or heard of before. It really showed off their skills as chefs.

They were reaching the final dessert round when Kuroo came back. Kuroo sat down on the couch with a thump, immediately leaning his head on Akaashi's shoulder. Akaashi looked at Kuroo as best he could, and really could only see his messy hair even more ruffled. He must have run his fingers through it repeatedly out of frustration. Akaashi's hand found Kuroo's and he grasped it tightly.

"Did you talk to your parents?" Akaashi asked, testing the waters. Kuroo didn't elaborate anything about the topic last time, but maybe it could be explained by the fact that he was exhausted after it happened and thus fell asleep before he could say a word. This time it could very well happen again; they just competed in their first competition together, went out to dinner with Ukai and came home not even 30 minutes ago. Akaashi wouldn't blame him if he just wanted to sleep instead of talk. But also, this wasn't something Kuroo could just keep brushing off if it caused him so much distress. Akaashi hated seeing that distress. 

"Yeah. My dad called me." Kuroo replied. It didn't seem like he was apprehensive about the topic, but he still could just drop the entire topic at some point.

Before Akaashi opened his mouth to reply, Kuroo continued. "He says he never wants to see or speak to me again."

Akaashi's train of thought went dead in its tracks. Kuroo sounded so empty when he said that. Akaashi couldn't begin to imagine what Kuroo was feeling. His father had passed some years ago, before he trained abroad, and was just as supportive as his mother. He never had parents who would just... stop supporting him entirely. Akaashi caressed the back of Kuroo's hand with his thumb.

"Why...?" Akaashi asked, voice soft. 

Kuroo went quiet and moved a little bit to get more comfortable, but also perhaps to stall out having to answer. Was Akaashi pushing too much? He really hoped he wasn't. Akaashi said nothing more, waiting patiently for Kuroo to say something, anything. The sounds from the tv were hazy background noise. 

"He didn't like me coming here to do this. He thought it was a pipe dream. He only would care if I won." Kuroo finally spoke, his voice croaky and weak, low and raspy. It was a tone of voice Akaashi hadn't ever heard before. It broke his heart.

"And then he saw or heard or whatever that we kissed after receiving our score..." He continued, but fell short, voice fading out. Akaashi could connect the dots. Kuroo didn't need to fill in the blanks. 

Akaashi moved so he could embrace Kuroo and bring him closer. Kuroo felt all too pliable under his hands and movements, and when Kuroo wrapped his arms around Akaashi's shoulders, they were loose and almost limp. Kuroo pressed his face right into the crook of Akaashi's neck. Akaashi's fingers tangled into his mess of black hair. He kissed his cheek, his jaw, his neck, his ear, anything he could reach in his current position. He stopped when he rested his chin lightly on Kuroo’s shoulder.

"Maybe it better you don't have him in your life anymore. He chained you down," Akaashi said softly, voice bordering on a whisper.

Kuroo's hands grabbed the fabric of Akaashi's shirt and held it tightly. "I know... but... he's my fucking father." His voice was muffled. Akaashi could feel his lips moving against his shoulder, where his face was nestled. "He should give more of a shit than that."

Akaashi's fingers in Kuroo's hair idly brushed through the strands, silky under his fingers. "Parents are people. And people can be mean and horrid and selfish. But Kuroo," Akaashi pulled back a little from their embrace, just enough so he could face Kuroo head on. They made eye contact. Kuroo was on the verge of tears. He kept trying to blink them away. "I will always be here for you. If no one else is, then I will be the only one here for you."

Kuroo gave him a weak, small smile. One of his hands slid away from their hold on Akaashi’s shirt and instead cupped Akaashi’s cheek.

“What did I do to deserve you?” He said, letting out an airy chuckle. Akaashi smiled, too. He leaned into Kuroo’s hand.

“I ask the same question everyday.” He replied, and Kuroo snorted and gave him a look.

“No way. You’re clearly the settler, not the reacher.” Akaashi raised his eyebrows at his response, confused by whatever the hell he just said.

“What?”

“You’ve never heard of that? In every relationship, there’s always one person whose better than the other. They ‘settle’ for their partner. The one whose worse ‘reaches’ for the other ‘cause they’re out of their league.”

Akaashi stared at him blankly, unsure if he was being genuinely serious or not. “Did Bokuto come up with this? This sounds like the immature stuff he’d think up.” 

“No! It’s a real thing! I mean, Bokuto told me about it, but it’s legit.”

"Legit or not, I do not condone this self deprecation. You are good enough and more than enough for me." Akaashi's fingers twirled around a strand of his hair.

"God, do you have to be so wonderful all the time?" Kuroo mumbled, nestling his face back into the crook of Akaashi's neck.

Akaashi shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not going to lie to you." Akaashi then went quiet, still wanting to say something else. While their banter was always nice and welcome, Akaashi still couldn't ignore how this conversation started. He knew, or at least guessed, that Kuroo was the type to just avoid talking or thinking about issues in his life because it was easier. Thus he battled his battles alone, making things harder for himself under the pretense of ease. Akaashi sighed softly, and his fingers slipped away from Kuroo's hair, resting now on the nape of his neck. 

"Do you... want to talk about your parents with me? I may not understand, but it may help you more than dealing with it alone." Akaashi finally spoke after their mutual silence dragged on.

Kuroo took a while to reply, as Akaashi began to learn it meant Kuroo was hesitant to say something or reply to a question. He kept quiet, letting Kuroo think to himself. It would benefit no one to force the truth out of him.

"I... I guess I should." Kuroo replied. The arms wrapped around Akaashi's shoulders slid down to now rest at Akaashi's hips. Kuroo moved his head away from its spot at Akaashi's neck, and he leaned back into the cushions of the couch, letting out a long, long sigh. "It's only fair you know since this keeps being a stupid problem."

"You don't need to feel obligated to tell me, but if you think you want to, I'm all ears." Akaashi said softly.

Kuroo took another moment to collect his thoughts again, his thumbs stroking against Akaashi's hip bones. "My father is a mediocre man. He dreamed big but only could do average things. He got only a decent job, not his dream job. He couldn't get his dream house, his dream car, his dream wife... because he was average and mediocre. And when I was born, he always dreamed big for me. All his aspirations of fame, success, and talent, he shoved onto me. He pushed me to work hard at school, to never let my grades slip.

"When I began volleyball, he pushed me to perfect everything at it and to only do that when I grew up. When he learned I bought myself a guitar and was learning to play that, he threatened to take it and destroy it if I didn't stop playing and focused on "what mattered" instead. So I kept playing volleyball and studying hard. It was stressful, having him always looming behind me, watching my every move. I was happy playing volleyball but I was always worried about suddenly never becoming the best player my father wanted me to be. But I kept trying to work hard. I graduated, went onto college, and did the same thing. I was able to move out and away from him, but he would call constantly and make me update him on everything. Grades, classes, volleyball matches, scholarships..."

Kuroo paused for a moment; the light feeling of Kuroo's hands on Akaashi's hip changed as his fingers tightened and dug into his skin, but only for a moment. Akaashi could notice a seething rage welling underneath Kuroo's skin. It was fiery hot and bubbling, but he forced it to stay under the surface. Akaashi stayed quiet, patient, and attentive.

"My mother was never as pushy and tense and controlling. She was a mere bystander, afraid of my father's wrath too. He had high expectations for her, too. For her to be always pliant and submissive. To always cook, to always clean, to always please. I love my mother so much but... she was always so distant because she was afraid of my father like I was. 

"When I learned about you and then got skating lessons, I lied to my father about it. I told him I was spending all my free time practicing volleyball or studying. I told my mother, though, and she promised to keep it a secret. But then Kenma told me I should stop skating because I was getting distracted playing volleyball, and I knew if I slipped up once and didn't become what my father wanted, I would have failed. And I would've become him.

"Only when you told me I could just... do what I wanted, I realized I could be my own person. I was allowed to make mistakes. After I quit volleyball I didn't answer a lot of my father's calls. I felt so happy. I felt so free. When I told him I was going to do professional skating, I was surprised when he didn't erupt and yell up a storm about it to me. He would help me with this. Maybe it was because Japan had several successful skaters or not, I don't know. But he would only help me financially for one flight and unless I showed results right away, he didn't care about me anymore.  

"The night... when we slept in my bed together... my father called and reminded me of what I had to do to be worth something to him. Up until that point I ignored how painful it was to see your mother so happy and supportive and by your side. I ignored how much it hurt to _prove_ I was worth something. But when my father spoke to me after so long, it all came out. It felt nice to cry it out and let out my frustrations. I felt better for a while, because I was improving, we were improving, things were going so well...

"And then we competed today. And I didn't do the best he wanted. He wanted gold, he wanted first place. Because he couldn't get it himself.

"The phone call I just had with him, he said he will never talk to me again, and he'll make sure I can't speak to my mother, either." 

Kuroo's hands tightened their grip again.

"So I am free from him, but my mother isn't. I don't have his dead weight anymore but now she has all of it..."

Kuroo's eyes never settled on Akaashi's own, only focusing on something on Akaashi's shirt, occasionally flitting around. But then he did meet Akaashi's gaze, and he could see them watering with tears. Akaashi placed a hand gently on his cheek, and gingerly wiped away a tear as it fell. He looked so sad, absolutely heartbreaking and tragic. All of this struggle Kuroo hid so well behind smirks and flirting. Kuroo was perhaps one of the strongest people Akaashi ever met.

"I... hope that wasn't a lot for you." Kuroo said, voice quiet.

Akaashi nodded his head and gave him a small, reassuring smile. "No, it's ok. I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me about your struggles." He wiped away another tear, before leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on his nose.

"Hey," Akaashi then said. "Perhaps you cannot speak to your mother, but I could. Maybe I could discreetly email her or text her and talk to her for you so your father doesn't know."

Kuroo looked at him with wide eyes, before he broke out into a bright grin. It made Akaashi's heart flutter.

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Kuroo said, and Akaashi nodded. Akaashi was about to say something else, too, but Kuroo then pulled him into a kiss, nice and sweet, taking Akaashi's breath away.

When they pulled apart, Kuroo met Akaashi's eyes again. No longer did his eyes twinkle with tears but they instead twinkled with happiness.

"God, I love you." Kuroo said, breathlessly. And for the second time, Akaashi felt the air stolen from his lungs again.

"I love you too, Tetsurou." Akaashi replied, and couldn't help but laugh when a scarlet coloring spread across Kuroo's cheeks.

 

* * *

 

“Does this mean we’re on first name basis now?” Kuroo asked, waking Akaashi up right as he was just about to fall asleep. Akaashi opened his eyes and squinted in the darkness, craning his neck back to look at Kuroo. They were in bed together; Kuroo asked if Akaashi wanted to share a bed again, and Akaashi had no problem with it. Kuroo was curled up behind him, their legs entangled, and one of Kuroo’s arms thrown around Akaashi’s waist. He was playing with the fabric of his shirt.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Akaashi said, sleepily, voice grumbling.

“What? I want to know if I can call you _Keiji_ or not. Has anyone ever called you _Kei-chan_ before?” When Kuroo said his name, his cheeks heated up and he turned his head away from Kuroo. 

“I’m trying to sleep, Kuroo. Aren’t you tired?”

“Aw! What the hell! You said my name earlier, but now we’re back to _Kuroo_ and stuff?” Kuroo whined, and Akaashi knew for a fact he was pouting too.

“If I say yes to your first question, will you be quiet and sleep?” Akaashi asked, too exhausted to deal with these shenanigans anymore.

“Maybe, as long as you promise to call me _Tetsu_ from now on.”

Akaashi sighed.

“Fine.”

“Fine what?”

“Fine, _Tetsu_.”

Kuroo kissed the back of Akaashi’s neck. “Good night, _Kei-chan_.”

“I’m going to kill you tomorrow." 

Then, it was silent in the room again, only the distant sound of crickets chirping through the night being the only sound either of them could hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> they are now on first name basis..... now that's what i call good shit.  
> also -- versace on the floor by bruno mars was the song i was thinkin about for their pair skate song. hopefully you can imagine their routine if you listen to the song? idk.


	13. Midnight movies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heads up--there is some nsfw in this toward the second half of the fic!  
> also--it took way longer to post this than i thought but i hope its worth the wait ^^

 Kuroo was doing better. 

Ever since Kuroo told Akaashi essentially all there was to know about his shitty father and the ensuing strained relationship between them, Kuroo felt so much better. It bothered him a little less that his phone never lit up and vibrated with another call from his parents. It bothered him a bit less that he knew his father wouldn't be watching his performances or care about his progress. It still hurt, of course, but now it was easier to deal with. It was easier to accept and try and get better from now that Akaashi knew and was more than willing to help him through this. Akaashi would never understand this type of pain, but Akaashi did know some ways that could help. Simply cuddling with Kuroo was always a good option; sometimes making him a bath was good too. 

Akaashi wasn't the only big help either; Kenma texted him quite frequently now. Kuroo told him about the worst fight that occurred and Kenma easily picked up that Kuroo wasn't going to get through this with simply the same amount of occasional texts. Thus, Kenma made sure to text at least one photo of a cat per day to Kuroo and sometimes talk to him about his day, or anything that came to mind. It felt nice to talk to Kenma this frequently; it felt like they were hanging out in person, but obviously not because it was texts. And it was also nice that Kenma took more time out of his day to make sure Kuroo was doing good or at least as well as he could. 

Bokuto was, of course, a help too. He always kept Bokuto updated on things that were going on; but he never really opened up about a lot of personal stuff with him. Not only did he tell about his shitty father to Akaashi, he told Bokuto briefly about it too, just so Bokuto knew why he would ever be not too happy about things. Bokuto continued to be a bro to count on, a bro to joke with and a bro to gush about his stupid romance endeavors with. Things got easier with all of them supporting him through it. 

And Kuroo was doing much, much better. 

The two of them had more competitions planned and more preparation to make. Akaashi was working especially hard as he was going to go back to competing solo; though, he did tell Kuroo that he wasn't sure if he could do both paired and singles at the same time, so really this attempt was him seeing if he could do it. He did seem happier doing what he loved and what was his constant joy, and Kuroo never wanted to take that away from him. Whenever Akaashi was happy, so was Kuroo. 

Coming up, however, was something unrelated to skating but something Kuroo really cared about. Something that probably stressed the shit out of Kuroo more than any goddamn competition probably could. 

_Valentines Day._

Kuroo never really celebrated it before. Often times, in his fleeting high school relationships, they never ever lasted long enough to go till Valentines Day or White Day. If they did, then Kuroo never really cared that much about it. Sure, he liked the girls he dated--but he never felt the same way he did when he was with Akaashi. Maybe that was a sign that Kuroo _wasn't_ straight or Kuroo just got into relationships back then for the hell of ´em, who knows. But either way, his Valentines Days always consisted of not really caring or caring just a little bit. 

Things were really different this year, though. And Kuroo wanted it to be different. Akaashi meant a lot to him and he hoped he could show it by going as far out as he could. He was thinking of making the entire day filled with shit: breakfast in bed, preparing Akaashi a bath, making sure all his favorite shows were prerecorded on the tv or were on Netflix, answer every beck and call that Akaashi would have. He wanted to pamper the shit out of Akaashi, because _fuck_ if it wasn't what he deserved. The only issue with this plan was Akaashi himself. Kuroo knew and knew well that Akaashi would be doing nice shit for him, too. Breakfast in bed, making a bath, the whole shebang. So while Kuroo's original plan wasn't bad, he had to also keep in mind how it could crumble apart. 

And it could very damn well fall apart because Akaashi loved him too. 

But Kuroo maintained hope that he could figure something out. Something good, something memorable, something _priceless_ , even. 

And who else to help out but Bokuto Koutarou? 

 

**Me**

bro

u know whats comin up

v-day 

love day

my bf day 

i need ideas for smth juicy 

 

**Brokuto**

u came to the RIGHT MAN 

okok 

getting him flowers and chocolate is nice 

but u want smth worth while somethin unique 

maybe like. a custom apron

or like

skates... engraved with ur initials 

 

**Me**

bro oh my god 

those are a lil lame 

 

**Brokuto**

BRO ITS RLLY LATE AT NIGHT HERE OK 

the custom thing is good tho!!! maybe not the custom shit i said tho

 

**Me**

u are right

custom is good 

custom is unique 

but what do i customize that isnt lame af 

 

**Brokuto**

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

hmhmhm

! oh dude! 

i have an artist friend 

and they do commissions! 

u can commission them to draw akaashi!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

**Me**

FUCK!!

thats good

thats rlly good

i like that shit 

gimme their deets im rdy to support an artist and love my bf 

 

**Brokuto**

(696)696-6969

text away my dude

tell em bokuto sent u 

it doesnt mean anything but idk

maybe discount?

probably not they need the money 4 rent 

 

**Me**

u got it bro

thanks 

fuckin love u bro 

 

**Brokuto**

love u too bro

gtg !

night my bro! 

After their exchange, Kuroo contacted the person Bokuto mentioned, sending them a quick text saying who he was and what he was interested in. He wasn't sure if this person lived in Japan or not, so after sending the message he then got out of bed to get ready for the day. This was merely step one of his plan to serenade Akaashi was love. He still really wanted to cook for Akaashi. Thus, it was off to the grocery store to get brainstorming for ideas. 

However, as Kuroo got ready, he realized he didn't hear Akaashi in the apartment, which meant he was sleeping in for once or headed out without telling Kuroo, which was peculiar. But he didn't think about it that much; he trusted Akaashi to be okay on his own and he wasn't required to keep Kuroo posted 24/7. 

After getting dressed, he had a quick breakfast consisting of some left overs and a quick cup of coffee before he headed out to the grocery store. 

 

* * *

 

The trip to the grocery store ended up being a trip to the grocery store, and their favorite cafe, and a local patisserie for several different items. He got ingredients for breakfast and a dinner for the case Akaashi was making breakfast, Kuroo could make dinner and vice versa. And if that failed, he could present pastries and cakes and all that jazz. 3 different options for him to choose from, and if he was really lucky, he could do all three. 

After getting all that he needed, he headed back to the apartment with several bags in hand. He was surprised he even managed to open the door without putting a single bag down. And when he arrived at the apartment, he found Akaashi busy in the kitchen, chopping up some sort of vegetable, the TV playing something softly in the living room. Kuroo walked over to the kitchen counter and put down his bags before taking a seat at the counter. 

"What'cha cookin', good lookin'?" Kuroo asked, taking his items out of their bags. He kept the sweets and such in their own bags. 

Akaashi turned a little to look back at Kuroo. "Curry," He said simply before going back to chopping. "Did you go out shopping?" 

 Kuroo hummed. "Yeah." He replied simply, not wanting to elaborate further to ruin his surprise. He got up and began placing the items he purchased into the right cabinets and areas in the fridge. When he had to pass Akaashi, he gave him a kiss on the head each time. 

Once his sorting was all finished, Kuroo headed to the living room to watch whatever program Akaashi left playing, perhaps as just something to listen to as he cooked. It was, as normal, a cooking show, the one where they try and make a dish out of ingredients that have just about no relation to each other or were just uncommon and rare. It was interesting to watch, especially when you didn't speak English. Kuroo often made a game out of guessing what they were making himself but frequently would go from serious to silly in the span of a few minutes to make Akaashi laugh. 

Though, as Kuroo learned more English (he could sometimes order his own food but it wasn't the most reliable) he was able to understand more of what was happening on those cooking shows and such. He could understand a little of what was going on by picking up some words he understood. It felt good to realize his progress like that. 

Soon enough, Kuroo heard the sound of Akaashi starting up the stove and the sounds of him placing things into the pot. He could smell it a little, too, and it made Kuroo more and more hungry. But he kept patient, watching the show (which didn't help his hunger) and occasionally checking his phone. 

"Hey, Tetsurou." Akaashi said suddenly, grabbing Kuroo's attention. He was standing a few feet from the couch. He was wearing a casual outfit of a loose t-shirt and shorts and over it, an apron his mother gifted him. It was a plain tan with a picture of a sumo on the middle of it. Kuroo looked over at him. 

"Yeah?" He replied, placing his phone down. "What's up?" 

"I'm going to busy on Valentine's Day. I planned for a training session with Ukai without realizing the date, so we could celebrate it today." Akaashi explained, moving to sit on one of the arm rests of the couch. 

Kuroo made a face. Well, that kind of threw out Kuroo's plans just a little bit. He theoretically still could go through with making breakfast and dinner and such, since Akaashi wouldn't be gone all day. He took a few more moments to think before replying. 

"I'll have to spoil you another day then. Wish you told me sooner," Kuroo said with a small pout, and Akaashi sighed. 

"I realized while I was out today, so I'm sorry." Akaashi leaned forward and kissed Kuroo's forehead. "I look forward to being spoiled by you." 

Kuroo smiled up at him and pulled him down for a short, sweet kiss. "I look forward to whatever you have planned for today." 

Akaashi smiled back and gave him one last little kiss before heading back to the kitchen to resume cooking. Kuroo went back to focusing on the TV. A new program was playing, and according to Akaashi, it was one where four chefs compete to make a simple dish but other contestants give disadvantages to the others. It was extremely peculiar and Kuroo really didn't get why it was so interesting at first; but the more he watched, the more he fucking _loved_ it. It was absolutely ridiculous, the types of hinderances one could place upon another contestant. 

Right as the final round of a particularly interesting show, Akaashi told him that the curry was ready. And before Kuroo could whine and say that he was just getting o the really good part, Akaashi was setting two plates of hot curry on the coffee table in front of him and then settled down on the couch space next to him. Akaashi was way too sweet. 

The two of them ate without much said between them, heavily focused on the TV show. Kuroo would occasionally ask what certain dishes and Akaashi would briefly explain and that was really the extent of their conversations as they ate. Even afterwards, they were silently focused on the pandemonium unfolding right in front of them. Once they finished the episode and half of another, Akaashi began to get up to bring the plates to the kitchen and to clean them, but Kuroo stopped him before he could even grab the plates. 

"Let me do it. You cooked the food, I'll clean." Kuroo told him, and Akaash gave him a smile and softly thanked him, settling back down into the couch as Kuroo collected the plates and utensils and once in the kitchen, began cleaning them as well as the bowls and pot Akaashi used to cook. He placed the left overs in new bowls and into the fridge for later. At some point while Kuroo was cleaning, Akaashi made his way into the kitchen and stood behind Kuroo, his arms wrapping around his waist and pulling him close. His cheek rested in his back. 

“Do you want to watch a movie?” He asked. “It’s in Japanese. Kenma said you’d like it.” He added. Kuroo hummed. 

“That sounds nice. Do you want me to make some popcorn real fast and then we can start the movie?” Kuroo replied, and Akaashi nodded. 

"Perfect." He then kissed the back of Kuroo's neck, probably getting on his tip toes to do so, before his arms slipped away from Kuroo's mid section and he headed off into his room to retrieve the movie. After rinsing off the last bowl, Kuroo found their stash of popcorn and threw it into the microwave, following the instructions on the bag. The sounds of the kernels popping was quite loud and really concerning the first time he made popcorn like this, but now it was just a noise he was used to. 

Akaashi came back right as Kuroo got the popcorn out of the microwave and was starting to pour it into a bowl. It was difficult to even open the bag as the hot popcorn was _steaming_ , but he managed to find a corner and get the job done. Akaashi popped the movie into the DVD player and settled into the couch, Kuroo then sitting next to him and setting the bowl of popcorn on his lap. 

Akaashi curled up against him, and the movie started. They talked a little through it, making comments about how amazing the costumes were or how questionable a decision was; but as usual, they were mostly quiet and comfortable with it. 

As they watched the movie, Kuroo grew a bit more and more tired, but stayed awake through it. Waking up after sleeping on a couch was really never comfortable, plus, he was pretty interested in the movie. It was some comedy about ancient samurai, and just like Kenma told Akaashi, Kuroo really did love it. He was surprised he hadn't seen it before, really. 

They finished the movie, and Akaashi asked if he wanted to watch something else, perhaps a documentary until they got too tired to watch more and thus head off to bed. Kuroo had no problem with that. However, they didn't get tired. Oh no, far from it. 

Somehow, things went a direction Kuroo didn't expect. Instead of going to bed after maybe 20 minutes of the documentary, he and Akaashi were making the fuck out on the couch. Of all things, Kuroo didn't really think things lead to where they were now. The popcorn bowl was sitting forgotten on the coffee table. The TV was the only light source in the entire apartment. The soft murmur of the TV was background noise. The only thing Kuroo's ears were tuned to, the only thing his eyes were adjusted to, the only thing he cared to notice was Akaashi, who crawled into his lap earlier and was the only thing that mattered and not some documentary about lions or some shit. 

Perhaps this all started when Kuroo started getting a bit handsy. Kuroo was careful with pushing the boundaries of intimacy. Akaashi wasn't the type to like everything all at once; he needed to get acclimated to things before doing something else or doing something more. Kuroo's hand started off simply grazing along the exposed skin of Akaashi's mid section. His shirt had ridden up a little as he leaned back into Kuroo's chest. Akaashi made no noise of possible discomfort or wiggle away from his movements or downright said anything, so Kuroo kept doing it, mindless and light. He didn't drift his fingers up more or down towards the hem of his shorts. They just grazed along the skin near his hip, tracing patterns with no meaning. 

At some point, Akaashi let out a soft sigh, sounding almost... purposeful of a noise. As if it was intentionally made for Kuroo to hear and notice and pay attention to. He looked over at Akaashi, and found his dark eyes piercing up at him, half lidded but still maintaining lazer focus. His hand stilled its movements. 

And the second Kuroo stopped his movements, Akaashi grabbed Kuroo's hand, firmly but not enough to hurt. 

"Touch me." Akaashi simply said. His voice was low and breathy. Kuroo didn't need to be explained anything further to pick up on what Akaashi was insinuating on. Kuroo merely returned to his ministrations upon Akaashi's skin, but was met with Akaashi's hand tightening it's grip upon Kuroo's hand. 

"You don't have to be gentle." Akaashi told him, and Kuroo swallowed thickly and dryly. And without breaking eye contact, Akaashi guided Kuroo's hand up, his fingertips grazing along Akaashi's skin, up until his fingers drifted over a nipple and Akaashi sucked in a small breath. 

"Do you want to...?" Kuroo managed to say, his voice hoarse and his throat dry. The two of them had never gotten this intimate before; Kuroo didn't want to push it. He still didn't want to push it. He needed to make sure. "To uh... y'know?" 

Akaashi _smirked_. He pushed Kuroo's hand down so it flattened out against his chest. "Cat got your tongue, Kuroo?" He asked, his voice sultry and smooth. "Yes. I want you. However you want me, you can have me." 

Those words went straight to Kuroo's dick. 

Without another thing uttered, Kuroo tentatively moved his hand to press upward and lightly against Akaashi's chest. Akaashi let out a small breath, and pulled Kuroo's hand away. He then slipped off his shirt without much regard and crawled right into Kuroo's lap.  

And that's how things got here. Akaashi's hips ground down against Kuroo's crotch, his pants getting really constricting the more he stimulated him. The tugging on his hair was something he didn't think he'd like but he absolutely did. Kuroo slid his hands along Akaashi's sides, following the slight curve of his waist and the flare of his hips. He felt Akaashi shiver underneath his touch, and experimentally, his slipped his hands back and toward Akaashi's ass, hands gently gripping his cheeks. 

Akaashi ground down rougher onto Kuroo's crotch and he let out an airy moan. _Guess he liked that,_ Kuroo thought. 

Akaashi's hands eventually left the messy tangles of Kuroo's hair and went down to his shirt, a button up. His fingers meticulously undid each button with practiced ease but the farther down he got the more impatient he became, evident by his growing lack of precision as he want. He pulled away from Kuroo's lips to groan in frustration. 

Kuroo placed his hands over Akaashi's. "Slow down, babe. We've got time." He pushed Akaashi's hands away and easily undid the rest of the buttons, then removing his shirt. If Kuroo was happy about one thing volleyball gave him, it would absolutely be his killer set of abdominal and upper body muscles. Akaashi seemed to like that too; his eyes roamed down his chest and along every dip and curve of his abs, pecs, anything and everything. 

Kuroo smirked. "Like what you see?" 

Akaashi's eyes snapped up to meet Kuroo's mischievous gaze. "Oh, absolutely," he replied. "You're just like a sculpture." 

"Awh, how poetic." Kuroo commented, and Akaashi rolled his eyes. He then moved his hand forward to place a hand on one of Kuroo's pecs. He then grazed his hand along the curve of the muscle, briefly tracing over Kuroo's nipple just to tease a little, and then down along his side and then down to his navel, just above his pants. His eyes were back focused to Kuroo's chest, and it felt both wonderful to show off but a little like he was being scrutinized under his gaze. Before Kuroo could dwell on his longer, Akaashi looked back into Kuroo's eyes. 

"Do you want me to suck you off?" 

The bluntness of the question almost immediately gave Kuroo a heart attack. His dick twitched in his pants. That was possibly the hottest thing he's ever heard. Akaashi was the hottest thing he's ever met. And he was gonna do one of the hottest things to do, ever? Oh, hell yes. 

"Do you really need to ask?" Kuroo replied, but knew Akaashi's question was also to confirm consent. "The answer is a _hell yes._ " 

Akaashi wasted no time undoing the button and zipper of Kuroo's pants, releasing some of the pressure of how tight his jeans were getting. Kuroo helped him wiggle his jeans down enough to settle at his ankles; he could deal with that later. Akaashi hooked a finger into the waistband of Kuroo's boxers and tugged them down. 

Perhaps Kuroo should've felt some sort of embarrassment at having his dick now on full display for the first time by Akaashi, but.... he didn't. If anything, he just wanted it in Akaashi's mouth fucking already because he knew this was going to be some hot shit. 

Akaashi settled on the floor in front of the couch, kneeling and leaning forward to get close to Kuroo's crotch. He wrapped a hand lightly over his shaft and gave a slow stroke, just to get the feel of it first. His eyes then flicked up to look at Kuroo, and Kuroo's breath hitched. 

And then Akaashi leaned forward a bit more, and planted a soft kiss to the tip. 

Kuroo felt his heart explode. _Fuck_  that was cute and _fuck_ was that so hot. 

Without breaking eye contact, Akaashi then slowly put the tip into his mouth. Kuroo wasn't actually sure if... this was his first time sucking a dick. Or his first time with anything sexual. Akaashi was so confident and bold in everything he'd done so far, showing off that he was experienced. But the caution he took in slowly inching Kuroo's dick into his mouth hinted to him that perhaps this was his first time. He kept that in mind, just so he knew to be even more cautious if they did something a little more intimate that this. 

Akaashi then closed his eyes as he reached about halfway. He stilled, perhaps getting used to the feel of it in his mouth, before moving his head back and Kuroo's dick popped out of his mouth. Akaashi then looked up at Kuroo, and Kuroo could see tears forming a little in the corners of his eyes. Was his gag reflex extremely sensitive? Did it hurt his jaw? Was this just too nerve wracking for him? Kuroo reached a hand forward to gently card his fingers into Akaashi's hair. 

"You ok?" Kuroo asked, and Akaashi's eyes flicked away. His cheeks darkened in color. Kuroo brushed through Akaashi's hair. A long second passed before Akaashi looked back at Kuroo again. 

"I've...." He started, before pausing again. "It... seemed easier.... online. You're kind of.... " Akaashi cleared his throat. "Big." 

Kuroo was right, then. Akaashi hadn't done this before. Also, it seemed, that Akaashi did some research beforehand, too. Did he plan all this? Or at least, hoped things would lead to this? Kuroo would be a liar if he said he was hoping things would come to this too, but he didn't want to force it. 

Kuroo gave him a reassuring soft smile. "I don't want you to strain yourself. You don't have to do this if it hurts too much." Kuroo told him. Akaashi went quiet again, thinking to himself. 

"Could you ah.... show me how to do it, then?" He asked, and if Kuroo wasn't really horny before, he truly was now. Something about Akaashi saying simple sexual things really got him fucking going. 

"You want me to give you a blow job?" He asked, just to be sure they were on the right page. Akaashi nodded.  

He then pulled his boxers back up and kicked off his pants, and motioned for Akaashi to get back up on the couch. After some pushing and prodding him to lay down on the couch along it's length, Kuroo settled between Akaashi's legs and from here Kuroo could very much see his bulge. Kuroo then hooked his finger on the waist line of Akaashi's shorts and tugged them down and enough out the way, doing the same with his underwear as well. Kuroo could feel Akaashi's eyes on him. He squirmed just a little as Kuroo pulled down his shorts. 

Kuroo flicked his eyes up to look at Akaashi. "The key," he began, "is to start slow. Build up the anticipation. Starting off fast gets tiring and intense way too quickly." Akaashi gave him a small nod, mouth parted slightly as Kuroo then reached forward and wrapped his fingers around the base of his cock. He leaned forward and began with a circling lick of the head of his dick, eyes focused on Akaashi's face for any reaction. Kuroo heard his breath hitch, and one of Akaashi's hands went up to his mouth to bite down on a finger.  

Kuroo then slowly took in the tip, not really sucking down on it quite yet; it was merely to get Akaashi acclimated to the feeling of a mouth on him. Kuroo kept focus on Akaashi's facial expression and focus on keeping his jaw wide enough to keep his teeth from grazing along his shaft uncomfortably. And after he took in the tip, he then took in the rest with relative ease. It'd been a while since he'd done something like this; while he never dated guys, he often fooled around with them. He hoped he could still keep his gag reflex in check like he used to.  

Kuroo closed his eyes as he took in nearly all of Akaashi. He didn't take him all in as he didn't want to really test how far he could go after years of not sucking a dick. He kept his hand on the base of Akasshi's cock, not constricting but firm enough to give a sensation. And then he moved his head up Akaashi's shaft, hand following suit, and he sucked down a little. He heard Akaashi give out a muffled moan, and God was that a beautiful noise. 

Kuroo continued going up and down, keeping his pace steady and slow but gradually picked it up. Eventually, his jaw began to ache a little, and he pulled his mouth away from Akaashi's dick but kept stroking with his hand, slow and steady. 

"Don't feel afraid to take a break from sucking. Your jaw being still useable is more important than anyone's pleasure," Kuroo instructed, and Akaashi gave a weak nod. His eyes were growing a little hazy. Kuroo kissed Akaashi's navel, kissing a path down to his dick before kissing the tip. "You doin' ok?" He asked. 

"Y-yeah..." Akaashi replied. 

Kuroo then went back to sucking, gradually increasing speed and pressure as he did so. One of Akaashi's hands at some point found their way to Kuroo's hair and he grasped his hair but didn't force Kuroo's head down, only tugging at the strands. And as Kuroo kept this up, Akaashi's hand in Kuroo's hair gradually tightened, and Akaashi's moans got a bit louder and happened more frequently. Kuroo got addicted to those sounds; soft and muffled but still audible and just so fucking wonderful and encouraging. Kuroo could feel his own dick throbbing in his boxers, and he reached his free hand down to grasp himself and stroke along with the pace he was going for Akaashi. He let out his own moans, and that made Akaashi moan louder and the hand in his hair tighten and tug really hard and then-- 

Akaashi tensed up and came, hips lifting up a little on the couch and he cried out Kuroo's name several times. Kuroo kept his mouth on Akaashi's cock, swallowing the cum as it came. He was surprised that feeling was still familiar to him and so much so he had little difficulty swallowing. Kuroo could hear Akaashi's breath, labored and hard as he came down slowly from his high. Eventually his hand loosened its grip on his hair and his hips lowered back down on the couch and Kuroo pulled away from Akaashi's cock, swallowing the last of the cum as he did so. He gave a kiss to one of Akaashi's thighs and looked at up Akaashi, who looked sexed the fuck out.

"How was it?" Kuroo asked, voice a little hoarse. He leaned his head a little against Akaashi's thigh. 

"Fuck..." Akaashi replied airily. "That was... really good. Amazing. Perfect. The best thing I've ever felt." 

 Kuroo grinned widely. "Glad you enjoyed it." He gave another kiss to Akaashi's thigh before sitting up, stretching out his arms and back. Akaashi stayed laying down in the same position, but Kuroo could feel his eyes focused hard on Kuroo again. He looked at Akaashi. 

"Something wrong?" He asked, and Akaashi bit his lip. 

"You didn't get off." He commented, and Kuroo was once again reminded of his own erection. While he had stroked himself earlier, he stopped after Akaashi came, so focused on his lover's pleasure and not on his own.  

"If you're too tired, don't worry about it. I've gotten more than enough out of getting you off." Kuroo replied, and Akaashi then sat up himself and bit his lip. 

"Could I try sucking you off again?" He asked, tentatively. 

"Yeah. Just take your time. I don't want you getting hurt. We've still have all night, babe." Akaashi nodded, and after pulling his underwear and shorts back up, he settled again down on the floor right in front of the couch. Kuroo moved so he was closer to the edge of the couch and closer to Akaashi's face. 

"It's ok... if you want me to stop." Akaashi told him, making direct eye contact. "I'm not as good at this as you are." 

"Practice makes perfect, Keiji. No one's a natural-born dick sucker." Akaashi snorted at his comment and pulled down Kuroo's boxers. 

"You're so stupid," He mumbled, before pretty much picking up where he left off earlier; a hand wrapped around the base, kiss to the tip, and he slowly began taking in Kuroo's length. This time, however, he made sure to take in only half of Kuroo's length and took frequent breaks to rest his jaw. And while Akaashi obviously wasn't a God at dick sucking, he picked up on what Kuroo was doing really fast. He stroked his cock with his hand like Kuroo had done to him minutes ago; applied pressure roughly the same way, and sucked the same way too. He also seemed aware of his teeth, too.  

Kuroo got lost in the fucking amazing feeling of Akaashi's mouth quite easily. His head fell back against the couch and he let moans and words of encouragement tumble out his mouth without much thought. It seemed to keep Akaashi going as he got more used to and eased into it more and more. And with time, Kuroo was just babbling incoherent phrases, and a coil in his stomach was forming and tightening and tightening until it burst. Kuroo forgot entirely that Akaashi probably didn't know if he should swallow or spit or just let it happen because shit the simple feeling of Akaashi's mouth on him was just so good that he found himself unable to focus on anything else for a good few moments. 

Eventually, Kuroo collected himself and looked down at Akaashi, who... had cum all over his face and hands. His eyes were screwed shut as some was dripping down to his eyes. Kuroo immediately bolted upright and started scrambling to look for anything to wipe it off his face. 

"Oh fuck! Shit! Sorry, I should've asked if you wanted to-- _fuuuuck_ , where's the tissues?" 

Akaashi pointed to the right. "Somewhere over there." He said calmly. Kuroo reached over to the side table next to the couch and snatched the box of tissues, removing a few and immediately removing the cum off his face. He took care to be gentle, not wanted to accidentally hurt Akaashi or get it in his eye. Akaashi stayed perfectly still as Kuroo scooped it up and removed as much as he could while also being very gentle. Soon enough, he was done, and Akaashi opened his eyes carefully. 

"Like you said, no one is a natural-born dick sucker." Kuroo laughed and gave a light quick kiss to Akaashi's lips. 

"I don't recommend doing what you did... the _cum facial_." Kuroo said, still chuckling.

"Make sure to tell me my options next time, then." Akaashi said, letting out a laugh too before crawling back up onto the couch and curling up against Kuroo. Kuroo wrapped his arm around Akaashi. 

"I hope you know that we should probably clean up more than use tissues. Like, take a shower." Kuroo said after a moment, and Akaashi groaned softly, shoving his face into Kuroo's chest.

"I just settled down." He said flatly. 

"We could take the shower together. Efficacy." Kuroo offered, fingers stroking along Akaashi's back. 

"Mmm.... Fine. You've convinced me. But don't fool around." 

"I don't know what you're talking about." 

"You know _damn well,_ Tetsurou." 

Kuroo put his hands up innocently. "Alright, alright. No fooling around." 

The two of them then slowly made their way off the couch, both not really wanting to leave its comfort but knew it was best for their hygiene to do so. And after their shower that was only slightly cramped (Kuroo is too fucking tall), Kuroo made hot cocoa. And as they sipped on their drinks quietly together, Kuroo smiled into his mug. This day went surpisingly well. If it had ended with them giving each other blow jobs or not, it was nice, because they had each other's company. 

And that's all Kuroo would ever need. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof that was my first time writing anything nsfw.... i hope it wasn't bad! i tried to keep it realistic.  
> also lmao the timeline for this fic is so outta whack... i just wanted these boys to get it on ok


End file.
